Pokémon creepypasta stories
by Pokemon121121
Summary: This is a collection of Pokémon horror stories. The stories are much better then the title and summary.
1. Jessica

I love Pokemon. I always have, and always will. Not just the game… but the characters themselves.

When I was about six, my Dad bought me my first ever games console; a Yellow Gameboy Colour console with a copy of Pokemon Yellow. I was overjoyed; I had been a hardcore Pokemon fan ever since I started watching the TV shows with my brother and some friends, and every time I would start trying to re-enact some Pokemon. Due to my young age and naive nature, I didn't know it was just a kids' show and a game.

My brother was with me, and his own colourless Gameboy (the see-through one that shows all of the funky machinery inside of it) had a copy of Pokemon Blue. I would have gotten Red, but they were out of stock. My brother began his game, along with me, in the car on the way to my Grandmother's house and we were both instantly hooked. I fell in love with Pikachu instantly, and my mind being naive at a young age made me call it a weird name. Thinking of a girl who I knew who had moved recently (a very close friend of ours), I named my Pikachu 'Jessica' as a tribute to her. I got to Pewter City and I had a Butterfree and Pidgey already, similar to Ash in the cartoon. I had to turn it off and begged Dad to buy me new batteries to keep playing, but it was safe to say that I was hooked.

After time, my team grew stronger; it changed, expanding itself and now replacing Butterfree and Pidgeotto with a Sandslash and GORORO, a Dragonite traded to me from my brother. As well as the two of them, my team also added in the Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur that you get during the game. However, one Pokemon never changed throughout the game.

Jessica.

She remained on my team throughout the game. I didn't mind that she was a little weaker than my other Pokemon because she wasn't evolved; she held a special place in my heart. Somehow, no matter how many times my brother tried convincing me to evolve her into a Raichu (which was impossible in my game) by trading her to him to let him do it, I never did. I liked Jessica the way she was, and kept training her along with my other Pokemon, hearing the cute "Pika!" as she went into battle and the little animations when I spoke to her.

In fact, she was the first Pokemon on my team to reach level one hundred; my first ever top level Pokemon, the first Pokemon I had ever gotten! My Dad told me I was too into the game, but I saw differently. I saw Jessica as more than just pixels and bytes in a video game; I saw her as a close friend, a companion and someone who would cheer me up when I was down with her "Pika Pika!" every time I pressed the A button on her.

In a sense… I began to love Jessica like a friend, as weird as it sounded.

Soon, Pokemon Gold and Silver came out. I traded my Yellow team to my Pokemon Silver version and trained on that one instead, even getting them all to level one hundred too. Jessica still remained at the head of my party, along with my Yellow team and my new Pokemon Silver team.

I remember watching the anime in Johto, and Ash saying that he valued all of his Pokemon, and treated them like family. I valued my Pokemon in the same way, and Jessica felt like the little sister I never had.

My brother had a tendency to just restart his game when he got bored; I even got Pokemon Red to try to match him and we even had races together. He and I battled occasionally, and he often won, but he could never match up to my Pokemon Yellow team. One day however, one of our younger friends came around and messed with my game without me knowing. He didn't erase it, but he accidentally evolved Jessica into a Raichu (since it was on my new Crystal version, she couldn't refuse like she did in Yellow). I felt gutted and a little sad that some of my past had died. To relive some nostalgic moments, I traded my team back to Yellow and began to fight some Pokemon with my team, my love for it being back. Although Jessica wasn't following me around anymore, I still treated her like the Pikachu I always had. I even spoke to my game a few times, and once or twice I thought she responded to me; if I felt happy, the Raichu's cry was normal and tough, and if I felt sad it felt slowed down and a little saddened. It might have just been me, but oh well.

When Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire came out, I was distraught that I couldn't trade Gen I and II Pokemon to them. I felt incredibly sad and finally put down my Pokemon Yellow to pick up a copy of Pokemon Ruby; so what if it was American on a British Gameboy Advance? I began to play and was instantly hooked. I made a new team, but every now and again I went back to my old games. Jessica still made me come back to Yellow, and her Pikachu on the front page sprite made me always happy to see her again.

Unfortunately, my life outside of my Video Games was becoming less fortunate. My mother was getting sick and slowly dying of cancer. The doctors tried everything they could and fought to keep her alive, but everyone knew the end was coming… except me. I was so naive that I never even understood half of what was going on. Sure, I knew Mom was ill, but then… the inevitable happened and it finally smacked me in the face.

I closed myself to reality, playing games and forcing everyone away from me. My thoughts were so misguided and far-fetched. My mind was being distorted and I was doing incredibly badly on my games, even if I was trying to use them as a fail-safe. Ruby was no fun anymore and most of my other games were just plain rubbish. Super Smash Brothers Melee kept me entertained for a while, but soon even that got dull. The only thing left for me now was Yellow.

Somehow, as a failsafe, Jessica and Yellow actually worked. She always seemed to cheer me up, even as a Raichu and her tough battle cry made me keep going forward. I met a girl online and began to fall in love with her; she helped me though several hard times and was also a great Pokemon fan. I got Pearl soon after and began to play that, getting hints and tips from this new friend (who will be known as "S" to protect her identity) and making a new team, buying Pokemon Battle Revolution soon after and battling her on it occasionally.

Everything was getting back together, until one fateful event. One event that would, to me unknowingly, set off a whole chain reaction.

I had come home from school incredibly angry. People at school had been bullying me and a friend had turned on me and seriously upset me. In a blind rage, I had stormed into my room and began to throw things around; my bag, books, drawers – anything that wasn't secure. Eventually, I calmed down and began to tidy up. Removing things from a pile I had made of heavy objects being thrown, I heard an odd crunching and cracking noise. Digging everything away, I found something that made my anger dissipate into nothing.

There, crushed at the bottom of the pile, was a yellow cartridge for a Gameboy colour game. I only had one yellow Colour game, and that was the game I started with.

…Yellow.

I cried. I think I really cried for quite some time, just holding the smashed bits of my game to my chest. No more nostalgic battles with the Elite four, no more battles with my rival…

…No more Jessica. The Pikachu-to-Raichu I had grown to love as a good friend and almost as a sister.

I felt bad and guilty, but even still, I had other Pokemon games. I had Pearl with an amazing team on it and soon I was going to get Platinum. Would I really miss a Pokemon game that was about seven or eight years old?

I wish I'd paid more attention… I was far too blind and naive.

I began to play Pearl more frequently, challenging S to battles as well as my friends. I moved to a new school and got Platinum, but my depression kept coming back to haunt me. My brother, too, was suffering from depression from the death of our mother, and neither of us were getting any better. Well, I was stable thanks to S, who had now become my girlfriend, but my brother was worse off; my brother wasn't even going to school anymore. He had lost interest in Pokemon and gone to other fandoms, but I stayed loyal. I still am, to this very day, the number one Pokemon fan in my school.

However, whenever I played my Pokemon games, something lingered at the back of my mind… something that I'd forgotten. Something that I couldn't quite put my finger on… whatever it was I seemed to get this feeling whenever I saw a member of the 'chu family in the anime or in the games. It was… odd…

…And a little creepy.

A year and a half later, (approximately six months ago from today), another tragedy struck. My brother, who had slowly been sinking lower and lower into depression, died in his flat suddenly. Nobody told me anything about what happened, but it was enough; my depression came back like a storm and smacked me.

A few days later, I was due to go back to school. I was rummaging through old things that would bring back memories of my brother. Digging in a box, I found a cracked object. Pulling it out, I was surprised to see it was my old Pokemon Yellow cartridge. There was a large chunk of it missing from the front and a lot of the nuts and bolts inside of it were loose and tipped all over the bottom of the box. I took all of them and attempted to find the lost piece of the cover, but to no avail. Finally giving up, I placed it back into the box and put it away. As I did, a name flashed into my mind that made me pause.

_"Jessica…"_

…Where had I heard that name before? I couldn't remember. I stuffed it back under my computer desk and left for school.

Things weren't going very well; after my brother's death, my mind was going wrong. I was soon hearing voices in my head and I was diagnosed with minor 'Multiple Personality Disorder'. Pokemon HeartGold, my most recent game, along with S and my two friends (known to you as P and R) were the only things keeping me sane. Soon enough, P suggested I get the new Pokemon games, Pokemon Black and White. I decided to get Black because I liked the look of the white dragon Reshiram. He said that he would get White and we would race to see who could beat the game first, just like me and my brother would have done.

Soon, the game came and we went instantly to playing it. Within three days, I was already with seven badges and a full team. My love of Pokemon would never die, and P was left in the dust with only four badges.

Finally beating the game and getting the Transfer Machine, I borrowed P's DS and began to scroll through some Pokemon to trade from my HeartGold. I wanted to replace Lightning (my Zebstrika) and Wildfire (my Sumisear) because they were far too weak. Looking through, I came across a Pikachu I had gotten from the Yellow Forest Pokewalker run. It was female, had a modest nature and knew Surf, Volt Tackle, and two other moves I can't remember.

Perfect.

As a tradition of mine, I always name my Pokemon. This helps me put characteristics to them, and I had done so ever since I could remember. My HeartGold file was loaded and I took the Pikachu to the Name Rater. Pikachu seemed like the only one really worthy of being on my team; I'd already decided to replace Sumisear with another Unova Pokemon. As I went to nickname her, I had a discussion with the other two voices in my head to ask what to call her. As we were talking, my stylus tapped absentmindedly on the screen without me realising it.

As I came back to focus from the conversation with my other two counterparts, I realised that my dawdling had made me press Enter. I rolled my eyes and went to look at the probably silly name I had made.

_"Congratulations! From now on, this Pokemon will be known as Jessica!"_

"…Jessica…" My eyes widened as I recognised the name from somewhere. Where, I didn't remember, but it seemed to fit.

Everything from there went smoothly. We decided to stick with that name and sent Jessica to my Black and played that weird capture game thing. It took me two tries to do it, but I finally got my Pokemon to Black. Jessica was shifted to the front of my party, and I began to train her. Things were going as planned; the Lucky Egg and Exp. Point Up power I was using from my C-Gear were working great. I changed her moveset a bit to be more Special-oriented (she had a Modest Nature) and kept on training.

Things started getting strange about thirty minutes after she was in the game.

I had started training Jessica without an Exp. Boost and had just gotten her to level fifty. Level fifty was the level I was planning to evolve her into a Raichu. I pressed A twice to get rid of the stats and then a third time to get rid of the winning battle message.

However, rather than the screen going back to normal, it stayed black for a few seconds. Thinking my game had crashed, I pressed the A button once or twice. A black message box appeared on the screen, as if I'd just received an item, but the text was going slowly, and what was displayed made me frown.

_"…remember me…?"_

I blinked. I didn't know what that was. The text box vanished and the screen returned to normal. I guessed it was just some odd glitch for an event; maybe a joke they did since Pikachu was a main Pokemon in the first games. Chuckling a little at a possible gag, I went to my pack and took a Thunderstone, going to click on Jessica. However, rather than the page being replaced by Jessica evolving, a text box appeared, this time the text moving at normal speed.

_"Jessica is refusing to take the stone!"_

"…Refusing?" I was confused; a Pokemon had never done that to me… except once. Maybe it was a gag again back to this old Pokemon game. Sighing, I closed the bag and began to walk around a bit more, training again. Jessica raised a few more levels until she was level sixty, and I tried with the Thunderstone. Again, Jessica refused, but this time, as I closed the bag, another message appeared; black text box, slow white writing like before.

_"…It's not going to work… now do you remember me…?"_

This was starting to creep me out a little. I saved my game and then checked Jessica's stats.

On the status screen, her stats seemed normal; level sixty, modest nature, holding a Lucky Egg, female… but something was different. It took me a few seconds to notice what it was. The Pokémon's sprite usually moves on the status screens, but Jessica's was unmoving. The Pikachu was sat there, staring intently at the screen, and she didn't look happy like all of the other Pikachu did.

In fact… she looked… _angry._ Her head was crouched a little and her eyes were narrowed, her cheeks sparking occasionally. She hadn't been like that when I'd first gotten her. Worried that it could be Pokerus or some form of equivalent, I took her to a Pokemon Centre to see if that little message saying 'you have Pokerus' came up. When I spoke to Nurse Joy, she healed my Pokemon and then began to say something else, but what she said wasn't what I was expecting.

_"Oh my… it seems your Jessica isn't very pleased with you. Did you do something to upset it? You should take better care of your Pokemon."_

I read the screen over and over, trying to understand what I'd done wrong. Was this all a side-effect of some glitch involving Pikachu's and Thunderstones?

Alarm bells were going off in my head; my other two voices were screaming at me to be careful, but I wanted to get Jessica up to a higher level to battle the Champion and my friend; and so, I began to train again. Once she reached level sixty-five, I checked back on her sprite. Jessica's sprite had gone back to normal, but something was different. Where-as the Pikachu sprite normally bounced, Jessica did not, and she seemed to be looking at me, her eyes locking onto mine quietly, the detailed brown eyes filled with emotion I never knew could be seen in a game; hatred, anger, resentment, sorrow… they were not happy eyes. As I closed her status page, another message flashed up.

_"…You're a liar… a cruel, heartless killer…"_

"K-killer…?" I stared at the screen. Now I KNEW something was wrong. I quickly grabbed my DS and hurried upstairs in my school to find P and R, both of them in the upstairs lounge. I showed them the game, but as soon as I turned the DS to show them, the message would replace itself with Jessica's stat screen. I told them to listen to me and begged them to understand, but the two of them were both talking about something else and thought I was just going nuts and being stupid. I resigned myself to possibly thinking that too and headed back downstairs to my room, continuing to train.

As soon as I opened my DS back up, words were on the bottom screen in a slightly larger-than-normal textbox. These words were worrying, however, since it was still on the black text box… but the words themselves were blood red and in a different style of writing, much more blocky and sharp than the rounded edges of the newer writing.

_"You kept me close. We were the best of friends. Then you broke me – killed me – and then discarded me. I will never die. I am too close to your heart."_

Jessica's sprite appeared on the screen, but it was different again. Instead of a happy bouncy Pikachu, her arms were folded and her ears were drooping downwards, her eyes narrowed and her body had turned so it was now facing the screen directly. It was then that I really understood; she wasn't talking to the character at all.

She was talking to me.

"…J-Jessica…" I whispered, staring at her quietly. The Pikachu's sprite nodded angrily, and its mouth began to move silently as words appeared on the screen in that same blood-red, digital writing.

_"I thought you cared. I thought you really cared. Wasn't I special to you, Cameron? Wasn't I your best friend?"_

A Yes/No selection box appeared. I lingered, memories slowly beginning to hit my head as the other two voices in my head remained silent, probably just as shocked as I was. Fingers trembling, I selected 'yes'. Jessica nodded on-screen before her tail flicked and her mouth began to move again.

_"Yes. We were partners, you and I. We took down Team Rocket together. We conquered Kanto, Johto, and even Red together… I thought you cared, but I was wrong. You let rage get the better of you and snapped me like a twig. You crushed me, as well as my heart. You killed me. You're a murderer, Cameron."_

"N-no!" I cried, not realising I was talking aloud; "Jessica, I'm sorry! I really am!" I could feel tears begin to stream down my face, "You've got it all wrong!"

There was silence from the screen, before I suddenly heard; _"…Pika,"_ from the speakers. I looked at the screen to see she had turned her back on me and had begun to walk away. I shook my head, frantically pressing the A button to try and do something, but all I got was a swish of her lightning-bolt tail as she faded out. The screen returned to normal, and Black (the character) was facing a Pikachu sprite at the top of some steps. I guessed that this was Jessica, and the little Pikachu-block looked at Black before another text box appeared.

_"At the top of Celestial Tower… I will wait for you."_

With that, the screen flashed black and then back to normal. Things were wrong, though. The music had stopped playing, and Black seemed to be moving slightly slower than normal. When I checked my party Pokemon, the first thing I noticed was that Jessica was no longer in my party. The first space was replaced by my starter, Wish, my Samurott. Looking over my Pokemon, I noticed some other things; their cries were not sounded, and their sprites were frozen. The sprites themselves were also only done in certain monochrome colours; yellow, red, blue or what-not, as well as done in large, blocky pixels… just like…

…just like Pokemon Yellow sprites. Everything suddenly hit me; Jessica, my old team, the nostalgia… and finally, what had happened to the cartridge.

Without another word, in real life or in game, I used my trusty Sigilyph (Hynode) to fly to Mistralton City and headed north towards Celestial tower. The music still refused to play, but I was in too much torment with myself to care. The two voices in my head were trying to reassure me that this was some kind of nightmare, but I knew it was all happening. It was all so real… and my throat was incredibly dry. My tears still ran down my face as I entered the tower; the tower of deceased Pokemon.

_Pokemon Tower…_

As soon as I entered, the atmosphere was different from outside. The room was darker than normal, and there wasn't anybody there. There was a forlorn silence, but faintly, music was playing. I began to ascend the spiral staircase and the music got louder with every floor I raised. Each floor was how it should be, but much darker and with no Trainers or wild Pokemon. The graves were painted black, and on the final staircase, I saw _"CAMERON USED RAGE! JESSICA DIED!"_ in block red capital letters spiralling up the stairs, one letter on each second step.

I finally reached the top, and, surprisingly, found everybody there; all of the trainers from the tower, the Gym Leaders, Elite Four, Belle, Cheren, N, Alder… they were all here, looking towards the main steps to the bell at the top of the tower. As I approached them, people stopped me. What they said was what shocked me and made my throat dry out even more and fresh tears well up in my eyes.

_"Belle: Cameron… how could you do such a thing…?"_

"Cheren: You… I looked up to you… how could you betray me…?"

"Alder: This… is unforgivable… but maybe, she will…"

"N: You said that you wanted people and Pokemon to live in peace… then why did you…?"

As I rose the final few steps, Belle, Cheren, N and Alder all followed, blocking the way back out. I went forward and stopped. There, standing in front of the bell, was undeniably… a Raichu sprite. The Raichu rang the bell, the sounds sounding eerie with the music, which I now recognised as the 8-bit Lavender Town music from Pokemon Yellow.

The music suddenly stopped, and another text bubble appeared; black, with white writing.

_"…You came, Cameron."_

"…I did…" I whispered quietly to the screen, sniffing as I stared at it. The Raichu sprite turned around and took a few steps towards Black, only stopping one or two spaces away.

_"Do you know why I wanted to call you here?"_

A 'yes/no' box appeared again. I pressed 'yes' with shaking thumbs and the Raichu shook its head in response.

_"No, you don't. Don't lie. I called you here… so you can see what you did to me."_ The sprite took a final few steps towards Black, and the screen fuzzed out, the larger sprite replacing most of the screen, like when N sometimes talked. What I saw however almost made me sick.

It was a Raichu, but no Raichu I had ever seen. The creature's ears were flattened to its skull, a huge gash leading from one ear to the other across the forehead. Blood-stained fur was shown all the way down its face, past its sorrowful eyes and scratched cheeks. Its arms hung limply by its sides and its tail drooped limply over its shoulder, the lightning bolt at the tip of it having had a large chunk ripped out of it. The Raichu's mouth had dried blood around the lips, and some still dribbling from the corner of its mouth, but it was the main part of the Raichu that terrified me.

Right where the chest was, the abdomen and stomach area of the Raichu too, there was a gaping wound; inside could be seen intestines, bones, cracked ribs and with copious amounts of blood dripping from it, covering the white belly-fur and staining it red. I could see its heart, and with a sickening turn of my stomach, I saw it beating feebly within the shattered ribcage.

Panicking, I pressed A repeatedly to try to get the image away from the screen. Instead, a text-box appeared, the writing digital and red, just like the blood coming from the Raichu.

_"What's wrong, Cameron? Can't stomach what you did to me? Your closest friend, the one who you so mercilessly killed?"_

"I'M SORRY!" I screamed suddenly, staring at the Raichu's face; "I'M SORRY!" With that, I crumpled over my screen and sobbed; "J-Jessica, it was an accident! I didn't mean to hurt you! I didn't mean to do ANYTHING to you! You're still my Pokemon! You're still my friend! None of this was meant to happen, Jess! Don't… d-don't hate me, it was all a stupid, stupid accident!"

I cried for a solid few minutes before finally looking at the screen. Jessica had gone, and the overworld Raichu sprite was simply standing there, looking at Black. Nothing was said for a moment, and I simply stared at the screen. Finally, a text box appeared.

_"…Was it truly an accident?"_

A 'yes/no' box appeared. I pressed yes, and there was another pause. The Raichu sprite turned around and walked back to the bell before another text box appeared.

_"…Do you regret what you did?"_

Another 'yes/no' box. I frantically pressed 'yes', more tears making their way down my face. There was another pause before Jessica finally turned around, staring back at Black.

_"Jessica… believes you."_

I felt a wave of relief wash over me as I saw the Raichu sprite walk back over to Black. The screen flashed up with the gruesome Raichu sprite again, but this time, the sorrowful eyes were replaced with soft ones, a small, weak smile on its face.

_"Do you still love me?"_

There was no 'yes/no' box, but instead, it asked if I wanted to 'record' or 'check mic options'. I knew my DS microphone was fine, so I pressed 'record', and took a deep breath.

"…J-Jessica… I'm so sorry for what I did to you… I wish I could reverse what I put you through. I should never have forgotten. You're not just a bunch of pixels and data, but a being, just like me. I'm really sorry, I promise… I'll never do it again, ever. I'll be more careful, I'll… I'll never restart a Pokemon game! Ever! All I want…" I took a soft breath, and finally let the last words out; "…Is your forgiveness for my stupidity. …I do still love you, Jessica."

The picture of Jessica on-screen nodded, and it faded out. The overworld returned, and Jessica appeared again as a Raichu sprite. This time however, Black spun around in a circle and a small Pokeball flew from his hand. A flash of white light engulfed Jessica, and the ball closed. As Black moved forward to pick it up, a new textbox appeared.

_"Thank you, Cameron… you really do remember."_

I smiled at the screen and as I did, Cheren, Belle, N and Alder all walked up to Black and surrounded him. The screen faded out and Black re-appeared in front of the bell. He rang the bell, and the usual message appeared. Instead of what normally happens, however, Black walked away from the bell with the screen still focused on it. As it faded, I saw a few ghost silhouettes; a Charizard… a Blastoise… a Venusaur… a Sandslash… and a Dragonite.

All of my old Pokemon Yellow team… had been laid to rest in the Celestial Tower. Never returning… but never being forgotten.

The screen blacked out and returned me to Mistralton city. A message popped up saying that the game had been saved. I checked my Pokemon and saw Jessica in my sixth slot. Opening her page, a huge wave of nostalgia and comfort greeted me and my two other-voices as we looked at the screen.

Greeting us was a level 100 Raichu, Modest nature, female and with the nickname "Jessica", and OT as "CAM", which was my Pokemon Yellow character name. Moving to the moves section, I saw that her stats were exactly how they were left in Yellow, and her moveset was exactly the same as her old Yellow moveset; Thunderbolt, Double Team, Submission and Surf. I smiled broadly; she had forgiven me and decided to join me once again.

As I pressed B to leave the page, one final message popped up. The large Raichu picture appeared again, but this time, there were no cuts or internal organs shown. What was shown was the smiling face of a healthy Raichu beaming at the screen. A message box popped up as the Raichu's mouth moved as if it was saying the words.

_"Thank you, Cameron, for taking me back… oh, and by the way…"_ the screen changed briefly; the picture now had one paw up, and I saw something in her paw that made my eyes widen and show that no matter how much anyone would prove otherwise, this was no joke or hack.

In her paw… sat the final, missing part to my Pokemon Yellow cartridge.

_"I never truly forgot you, either."_

-/-/-/-

_I hope you read this and realise; to us, it may seem a game. But Jessica taught me that if you love a game too much, it becomes part of you, so much so that you can't leave it behind._

I have never, ever restarted or broken a Pokemon game since. I am careful with all my games. I don't want to upset anybody like Jessica ever again. I'm glad she was so forgiving and loving of me.

If she wasn't… it could have ended so much worse.


	2. A broken heart

When Pokémon Diamond and Pearl were released in our country, me and my brother immediately bought them. I didn't like Palkia at all, but I took Pearl because of some special pokémon you could have found only there. I know I could have taken Diamond instead and exchanged them with my brother, but I liked more the idea of having my trainer listed as their original owner. We both enjoyed the games (especially me, I actually love Team Galactic), finished them and we both wanted to complete the Pokédex; for the same reason as before ("my trainer's name in my pokémon's card" thing) in a sunny evening I got FireRed from a classmate. It was really cheap, and I was really happy.

Because we both were nostalgic, we decided to play it on my SP; and because it was MY Game Boy, I asked and got to play it all by msyelf. At this part of the story you can guess how much I'm bossy and possessive, but oh well. This doesn's matter. He was just interested in having the remaining pokémon anyway. Since this pasta is not about hacks or cursed cartridges, the whole first playthrough went perfectly. I got all the badges, became the Champion, made a team I liked and transferred it -with all the other pokèmon I needed for the Pokèdex- in Pearl. The transferred pokémon were all the average pixels you can see in each game, nothing special to write a creepy story about.  
>Platinum, Black, White…me and my brother got all of them and, because of that, we restarted FireRed tons of times. Get what you need, restart it, get what you need, all again. You see, he is older than me and was one of the lucky children who played the original Red when it came out. So, one day, when we had finished the Pokédex of all our versions, he came in my room and asked if I could lend the SP and the FireRed cartridge to him. He wanted to play it searching for his old, good times of a young videogamer. I had lost interest in it, and it was now useless, that's why I gave it to him without thinking about it two times. More space on the shelf, since I gave him even the booklet and the box.<p>

He goes to university but, after two weeks, he had already finished the whole game. I was surprised, he must have liked it very much. Well, one day that he was out and I had nothing to do, I decided to take a glance at his save file. Tired of flying and looking at the boxes after 10 minutes, I started to make random pokémon free or to teach them weak moves one after another. Fights Magikarp vs. Magikarp, and things like that. I used to do them everytime I was about to restart it. But something strange happened, and here is where my pasta really starts.  
>Ai first, I wasn't able to teach HMs to my team yet. Even if I tried and tried, it wouldn't work. Annoyed and angry with what I tought was a glitch, I started those for-the-fun-driven battles I told you few text lines before. They wouldn't work too, all the enemies just ran away or my pokémon themselves wouldn't go out from their balls. When I tried to fly to another city, to see if that odd thing would happen everywhere, I noticed how weird it was becoming. Not just the animation was different from all the times I've flown before, but do you know FFV Advance, when you fly over a chocobo? I was doing the same thing, but over my Pidgeotto. Impossible, I had never seen anything like that in a pokémon game. Moreover, I was unable to move, no matter what arrow key I had pressed.<br>"Stupid game, I should restart you again!" I yelled at the empty room but my presence and few furniture.  
>The screen faded black and some text popped up.<br>"No."

"You'll never ruin it all again."  
>You'll never ruin it all again? Ruin what? I couldn't understand. Well, I didn't have the time to understand, because Silver sprites immediately popped up too ready to explain. I have read that much pastas to know what was about to happen. Just, because this was a perfectly normal game, I was surprised. I didn't think anything like that could have happened. Probably, there was a reason. And, for what creepy it was, I was ready to listen to it calmly. I didn't want to get frightened, because I knew it would have meant my end.<br>"You were about to restart, weren't you?"  
>A YesNo option showed. To say it all, this time I wasn't. I just wanted to have some fun with the game my brother loved that much, not to erase all his efforts. I would have switched it off without saving what I had done. I tried to choose No, but it was impossible. "Liar" would pop up and the option would show again. I was forced to choose Yes, even if it wasn't my answer. I could have even switched it off, but I guessed Silver would show again next time my brother or me would use FireRed.

"I already knew it.  
>You just used this game again and again<br>as it pleased you  
>and then erased it when you were tired of us. Of me.<br>Like if I was just a bunch of useless sprites."  
>"W-what? That isn't real! I didn't ever think anything like that!" was the first thing I was able to think about, even if useless was itself the first thing I thought about when I had lent FireRed to my brother.<p>

"I admired you as a rival  
>more as a Champion, when you<br>became that.  
>But your consideration of our rivalship<br>has made me angry."  
>I wanted to explain, to say something. But I hadn't got the chance. My attempt of being calm was getting useless as much as Silver felt every time I restarted the game, since my heart was beating loud as a earthquake. My head hurt.<br>Then, I saw another trainer appearing in the black screen. They were the sprites of my brother's trainer. Silver started to get closer to him.  
>"N-no! Don't touch him! He's my brother's!" All the time he spent on this game, his childhood with the old Red version, his face when he won the League, those memories came to my mind. Tears started to fill my cheeks.<p>

"I didn't want to restart the game! The other times, it was my fault! DON'T TOUCH HIS SAVE!" I yelled again, as if Silver could hear me. But, of course, he couldn't. He came closer, and closer, then attacked the trainer. I didn't know what he exactly did but…I saw something bloody in his hand, like a heart. He had surely torn it from the trainer's body, which now was lying on the black floor without any sign of life.  
>Silver and the corpse disappeared and only the background remained. I was crying like a wounded child.<br>"Now you know."  
>This text popped out. And, a little over, there was ERASED SAVE FILE.<br>My brother found me over his bed, desperately asking for forgiveness.


	3. H4CK3R

_Congratulations! Rotom was caught! Would you like to give a nickname to Rotom?_

…_S-P-A-R-K-Y_

_The Rotom does not like its nickname. Change it?_

_Yes_

_No_

…_H-A-C-K-E-R_

_Hacker is glad you appreciate its talents! Put Hacker in your party?_

_Yes_

_No_

_Tune was put in Box 1 of Someone's PC! Hacker joined the team!_

—_-_

_A wild Gastly appeared! Go, Hacker!_

_What will Hacker do?_

_Fight_

_Item Run Pokemon_

_Which move should Hacker use?_

_Shock Wave Astonish_

_Uproar Hack_

…_The wild Gastly has been Hack'd!_

_The wild Gastly will now serve you. Put it in your party?_

_Yes_

_No_

_The wild Gastly was put in Box 1 of your PC! Hacker is wondering if you like what he did to the wild Gastly?_

_Yes_

_No_

_Hacker is glad you like it! Hacker will make sure no trainers ever harm you!_

—_-_

_Hello there! We'll raise your pokemon, for a small fee, of course. Would you like to raise a pokemon?_

_Yes_

_No_

_Okay, we'll raise your SPARKS for a while. Would you like to raise another pokemon?_

_Yes_

_No_

_Hm…are you sure you wish to leave your Hacker? It seems really attached to you._

_Yes_

_No_

_Cancel_

_Well, all right. We'll raise your Hacker for a while. Come back for it later._

—_-_

_Oh hello! I tell you we were so surprised. We were raised your pokemon, and we found an Egg? However, this egg isn't like normal eggs. Do you still want it?_

_Yes_

_No_

_Okay then, here's the egg!_

_You obtained Hacker's EGG! Hacker's EGG was put in your party._

_A terribly glitched egg. It seems to have been taken over by some unseeable force. It seems pretty solid. Destroy it?_

_Yes_

_No_

_You smashed the BAD EGG on the ground, killing whatever was inside._

…_something escaped from the BAD EGG. Chase after it?_

_Yes_

_No_

_You didn't chase after it._

—_-_

_Hacker wants to know what you've done with the EGG he made with the other Rotom. Tell him?_

_Yes_

_Hacker wants to know what happened to the thing inside the BAD EGG. Tell him?_

_Yes_

_Hacker is smiling malevolently. Hacker has disappeared from your party! You don't know where he is…_

_Your Pokétech is making funny sounds. Take it off?_

_Yes_

_You took off the Pokétech and threw it on the ground. Hacker's face is peering up at you from the screen._

_Run_

_Stomp_

_You ran from the Pokétech_

—_-_

_You should have destroyed it when you had the chance. Now you must either die or live in a Hack'd world. The PC is gone. Your party Pokemon have all been Hack'd and are chasing after you. You are running out of time. New game?_

_Please, let me die_

_Don't make me live like this_

_Thank you…_

_You have started a new game._

—_-_

_Hello, my name is Prof. Rowan!_

_Y0U w1ll n3v3r 3sc4p3 m3…_

—_-_

_Rotom, the Plasma Pokemon: Its body is composed of plasma. It is known to infiltrate electronic devices and wreak havoc._


	4. Banette

It was her favorite doll. She took it everywhere, clutching it tight in her small hands. The doll did everything with her. It went to school, sleepovers, dinners, and even tagged along for baths.

The two were inseparable. She even claimed the first day she became a trainer; she'd still carry it around to remember her childhood.

The doll might have been a bit odd looking, but that didn't change anything. It's what she liked, made the doll truly unique.

But as years went on, she found interest in other dolls. It didn't make sense, junking the old doll for new ones.

Yet, worn and dirty with age, the doll was sent away.

It lay in the dumpster, surrounded by trash bags and food wrappers. Not where it belonged, not at all.

Slowly, the arms twitched, fingers clawing into the trash bags. Its eyes were an angry red, the zipper-mouth turning into an angry scowl.

Banette rose from the dumpster, ready to find that little girl who threw it away.

The neighborhood – it hadn't changed a bit. How long had it been, anyway? Banette surely couldn't have been in there that long. It'd find that sweet little girl again and cuddle right back up in her arms.

Trash – what a joke. How could someone throw it away? A favorite should not be treated this way. You always kept your favorite; you never tossed it away.

The grudge grew stronger as the familiar houses of the block came into view. Her house wasn't far; just a few more to pass by.

At last, it came into view. The window was opened, letting the warm summer breeze pass through.

To Banette's disgust, new dolls littered the floor of her room. Other Pokemon, all new and fresh, not a stain on them, all set perfectly in a row.

Its owner wasn't so little anymore; it had been a few years. Banette floated over to the calendar; tomorrow was her tenth birthday. She'd be a trainer tomorrow.

Banette slashed its claws through the calendar. A trainer? No chance at that.

The slashing continued, slitting all of the dolls "throats". Stuffing pooled out, the dolls landing on the floor silently.

No, no, this wasn't enough. The girl would get new dolls, and these ones would end up in the dumpster as well.

There was a simple solution to that, at least.

Claws tore through flesh, leaving a clean, long cut down her neck.

The girl would never, ever abandon her dolls ever again


	5. Don't ignore Joey's calls

The PokéGear. It was a great addition to Pokémon gaming. At least, I used to think so. Until I got this one kid's number signed in it in Pokémon Gold. The kid's name was Joey. He would call me about eight times every day to inform me about one single subject; his Rattata. Whether it was about how it was being trained, or what it was doing at the moment, it was always that damned Rattata. It grew tiresome very quickly, and so one day, I made the biggest mistake of my entire life;

I stopped answering him.

I would just let the PokéGear ring when I saw his name come up, and I would ignore it, opening a menu to get it to stop.

Please, if you planned on doing the same thing, don't. Please… Don't…

That day; I was on route 46, he had called me for the fifth time, and, as usual, I kept walking, not answering, opening the menu. The ringing ended, but started up again almost immediately after I closed the menu out. This was strange; it usually didn't do that. It stopped, then rung again; and again; and again. Not only was it getting agitating, but it was giving me the chills. My character sprite; it was getting slower and slower with every ring, until it stopped; I couldn't move, no matter how much button mashing I did, nor could I open up the menu anymore. And a text box appeared saying;

"…You are ignoring me…"

I got the chance to start walking again, though the ringing kept going. The player's sprite soon  
>stopped again, and the screen said;<p>

"…Quit ignoring me…"

I kept walking, but I stopped sooner;

"…I'm warning you…"

I only took two steps before I decided to answer the stupid thing. I expected the boy to give me useless information about his weak excuse of a Pokémon, but instead;

"Why didn't you pick up?

You were trying to ignore me, weren't you?

I've always been ignored…

…I won't stand for it…

And neither will my RATTATA."

This haunting call was followed by what sound like a corrupted cry of a Rattata, and the screen turned to a garbled mess of pixels. The screen soon returned to normal, but I appeared to be in some sort of dark void… Where was this? The "music" playing was a headache inducing buzz, and I couldn't move. I could open anything; I was just stuck. That is, until the PokéGear rang; I answered it,

"Hello, Joey here.

Good, You're listening.

Now, listen to what I have to say."

I didn't need this. I flicked the ON/OFF switch over and over again trying to turn the game off, but it wouldn't work. Then, I remembered; the game cartridge. I reached to yank it out, but as soon as I but my fingers on it, I felt a slight but uncomfortable jolt.

"So, you are trying so hard to ignore me, huh?"  
>Well, tough luck."<p>

I soon quit. What the hell was this kid's deal? I mean, he was just a trainer with a Rattata and nothing else, right? WRONG.

"Now listen.

No one cares about me, nor my Rattata.

No one but you; at least I thought.

You were the only one who accepted my number…

And I thought I could finally tell someone about my most favorite Pokémon…

But then you shun me…

You see, my Rattata is special.

Show him, buddy."

Just then, a sprite ran up to me, emitting a cry; and then a battle started.

My blood ran cold as I gazed at the Rattata's sprite; its mouth open in a snarling matter, its eyes having a piercing gaze.

"Joey's RATTATA appeared!"

It was a level… I don't know. The level was missing.

The player's backsprite just stood there… It sent out no Pokémon.

"Joey's RATTATA used BITE!"

I felt a sharp pain in my arm after that attack. But why?

I tried to flee, but to no avail. In fact, a text box appeared saying;

"Don't run.

Pay attention."

"Joey's RATTATA used BITE!"

I felt an even worse pain in my other arm…

"Listen to me…

…Take my calls from now on.

OK?"

Then, the Rattata let out one last cry, and the screen turned to black, and soon I found myself to be returned to route 46 where I was before that happened. My blood ran cold as I heard the ring of the PokeGear, and I quickly answered.

"Hi!

This is Joey, how are you?

My RATTATA has gotten tougher,

We could almost defeat a MAGIKARP!"

And he hung up.

"Click!"

To this day, despite how persistent he was, I always answered Joey's calls… And am still bothered by the fact that he acts like nothing happened…


	6. I'm sorry, mommy

I'm sorry, Mommy. I'm so sorry. I know you told me over and over not to walk away while you were talking to your friend, but I couldn't help myself. It was so cute…

I didn't know it was alive. I thought it was a balloon. Just a balloon. Not this horrible creature.

You promised me a balloon yesterday, but you forgot. When I saw it, I figured you wouldn't mind if I took it. There were no other kids around to claim it, and if you got mad I would've reminded you of your promise.

Instead, I ended up like this.

When I got closer, I saw that it wasn't a balloon at all. It was a Pokemon. A Drifloon, to be precise. I had overheard you talking with your friends a few days ago, saying how these Pokemon have been rumored to carry off the children who hold onto them. It scared me when you said it, but I completely forgot your gossip when I saw the creature in real life. It was so cute. It shouldn't have been able to hurt me.

But looks can be deceiving, can't they? Now I know for myself how true that is.

The rest is simple. I reached for the Drifloon. Grabbed it, held on. It started to float. I struggled, Mommy. I wish you knew how hard I struggled. How I tried to bounce, to use my weight to force the creature down. How the wind was too strong. How I lost.

I think I started crying then. I just gave up. I was being carried so far above the trees, and I knew this thing wouldn't be able to fight the wind and float down. I closed my eyes and cried. Cried and missed you. I'm sorry, Mommy.

When I next opened my eyes, I was in a strange place. I never thought I would wind up in this place. I was always a good girl, wasn't I, Mommy? I thought only bad people were sent here.

Maybe luck is on my side. Maybe this Drifloon will carry me out of here one day. Maybe it won't. I don't know. All I know is how scared I am.

If I get out of here, I promise I'll never walk away again. I promise, Mommy.

If I get out of here, I'll never become a Pokemon trainer. I never want to go through anything like this ever again.

But saying all of that is pointless. My arms will tire eventually. I'll have to let go. The creature will float away, stranding me here. I'll never be able to escape.

I love you, Mommy. I'm sorry.


	7. ALICE

I've always loved Pokemon. All the games...and I've collected Pokemon cards ever since I was a little girl. My favorite game, out of all of them, was the special Pikachu, Yellow version.

My aunt gave me a Gameboy Advance for my birthday, when I was about 5. With the gameboy, I got 3 games handed down to me from my cousins: Harvest Moon, Tony Hawk, and a Pokemon Yellow version.

First I played Harvest Moon, practically the whole time my relatives came to visit. I loved it, I played it for hours. Finally, I beat the game and I was bored.

I popped the Pokemon Yellow into the cartridge without a thought. The game started up with Professor Oak giving his speech about Pokemon. I named myself ADA and went on. The game progressed completely normally. No glitches, no hacks. Finally, I got the Pikachu you run into when you walk into the grass. When it asked me to name Pikachu, I immediately called the Pikachu ALICE. I've always loved that name.

ALICE and me were always together. Never once did I put ALICE in the PC, and soon ALICE loved me. We beat 4 Gym Leaders, and then I moved to elementary school in the real life.  
>I lost Pokemon Yellow.<p>

I had forgotten all about that game. Quite frankly, I had lost the Gameboy too. I had a DS now, I didn't care for any of those games. Pokemon Yellow was gone from my life. I was 10 now, and I was obsessed with Pokemon Pearl and Diamond - and all the newer games.

One day my friend Ashley came over. Conveniently, she had brought her Pokemon Diamond game, so we screwed around for a little while, trading and battling. Then we stopped, she started to train her Turtwig and I started to train Piplup.

"Kendylle, what's this?" Out from under the couch she pulled out my old gameboy, covered with cobwebs and Pokemon Yellow was inside of it. "Oh my god. It's your Pokemon Yellow...remember it?"

Somewhere, deep in the corners of my mind, something lit up.

"ALICE is still on there..." I grabbed the game from her, and shut my DS off, turning the Gameboy on.  
>Everything continued - I forgot I was in Lavender Town. The music slowly started and I started to sweat - the music always made me feel weird. I turned to talk to ALICE.<p>

"..." ALICE silently ignored me. Ashley, watching over my shoulder, seemed to shudder. "I bet she missed you."  
>"It's just a game, Ashley..." I started to wander around Lavender Town, bored. I turned to talk to ALICE once in a while. It always read the same "..." note.<p>

Only when I entered the Pokemon Center did things start getting weird.

I entered the Pokemon Center. For some reason, I would always speak to ALICE when I entered one.

"ALICE is not hurt. Psychically." Chills went down my spine. I looked up at Ashley, who was absorbed in her Pokemon Diamond.

"Is your Pikachu supposed to tell you if it's hurt?"  
>"No. Why?"<br>"Nothing...nevermind.." I turned back to the game. Even though ALICE told me she didn't need to be healed, I healed anyway - I had a Nidoran that needed to be healed.

ALICE stayed behind me. I found that odd. I hadn't played that game in a while, yes, but I was pretty damn sure Pikachu was supposed to be healed no matter what.

"Your Pokemon are fighting fit!" Nurse Joy said happily, as always. "Please come again!"  
>I left the center and headed for the grass outside Lavender Town, bored. The music from the town resumed, even though I had left the town. A wild Ekans appeared. I forgot if they had appeared originally. Damn me for not playing this game in five years. <em>Damn me.<em> I selected ALICE to use Thunderbolt, an attack that I had always loved.

"ALICE used Loneliness." I froze in my seat, turning back to Ashley, who was also staring at the screen.  
>"Did you <em>see that!<em>"  
>"Y-yeah..."<br>"What's wrong with your Pikachu?"  
>"I <strong>don't know!<strong>"

"Ekans fainted!" The screen faded, without ALICE gaining EXP points, nothing like that. Ekans fainted and it went back to me. I turned to talk to ALICE.

"ALICE feels betrayed."

"Alice..." Both me and Ashley murmured softly. I didn't understand - but I felt very sorry for it. I was starting to hate myself for forgetting about this game. Stupidly, I ran into the grass again. A Spearow appeared...and ALICE still used Loneliness, making the Spearow faint in one hit. Then an Abra appeared. Primeape(which was odd) next. Lastly, another Ekans.  
>Ashley gasped behind me.<br>"Did you see that?" She let out her breath slowly.  
>"What?"<br>"Ekans. Spearow. Abra. Primeape. Ekans. The first letters spell Escape."  
>"Ashley...that's insane. There wasn't even a C Pokemon."<br>"You own a Charmand-"

Both of our chatter was broken by ALICE moaning. Both of us gasped and I tried to talk to ALICE.

"ALICE is busy and cannot speak now."

"Kendylle, that game is cursed..." Ashley was now sitting next to me, her Pokemon Diamond game to the side.  
>"It's not, it's just an odd-"<p>

"Gaaroah!" The sound of my Charmander filled our ears. Both of our breath caught when the text at the bottom of the screen faded in:

"CHARMANDER understood ALICE's pain."

"Escape..." I gulped.  
>"Woah woah woah! Is that a <em>tombstone<em> next to your sprite!" I looked at the screen, and next to ADA was a tombstone:  
>"RIP: Charmander..."<br>The Lavender Town music played louder now. Uneasy, I went to talk to ALICE.

"ALICE is pleased."

Ashley gulped. Immediately, I ran to the Pokemon Center and went to the PC. I went to ALICE and selected Release. Yes, it hurt me. Very badly. ALICE was my very first Pokemon. Ever.

.:.

Two years had passed, and I was 12 now. Ashley and me hadn't forgotten ALICE. She haunted both of our dreams. Maybe she haunted Ashley as well as me because Ashley was there to witness her release.  
>Woah, wait. ALICE was a character. Not real. Maybe, a little real.<br>Too real.

I was at a sleepover party, and all 4 of us girls: Molly, Nicole, Ashley, and me; we were all playing our Heartgold and Soulsilver games. Ashley and me would catch each other's eye sometimes, and we'd smile, remembering ALICE.

That's when the chaos started. The chaos that will haunt me forever.

"Hey, a Pikachu appeared!" Nicole yelled.  
>"What? That's impossible." Molly looked over at her DS. "Woah!"<br>Ashley and I both froze.  
>"ALICE." We both ran over to the DS, and indeed, there was ALICE. She looked horrible, though...she was decaying, and her eyes were bleeding. Horrifying image.<br>"Nicole, catch it, and send it to Kendylle." Ashley instructed. "We think that's ALICE."  
>"I think so too..." Molly whispered. "Didn't you release her, though? And how is she in this game?"<br>Nicole, as directed, captured ALICE with ease and we set up a trade. Ashley sat at Nicole's end of the room, and Molly sat with me.  
>"Kendylle, ALICE is coming to you."<br>"Erm...okay." I had an uneasy feeling.  
>All of us awaited as ALICE was traded to me. As soon as she was, all three girls stared at my screen. ALICE was in my party now, and substituted my Chikorita, who was now in the PC.<p>

I switched Eevee with ALICE, and talked to her.

"ALICE hates you."

All four of us tightened, and we kept talking to her.

"ALICE hates you. ALICE hates you. ALICE..."

The screen froze. I gulped.

"ALICE wants to be released."

"You already have been..." Molly whispered.

"N-no, Molly. She wants to be _released._"  
>I was quite aware of what I had to do.<br>I walked into the grass, regretting each step.

What surprised us all was that the wild Pokemon that attacked us was the Cubone's mother - Marowak.

"Marowak wants ALICE to join her."

I don't know why. I don't understand how, or why. All four of us girls cried. We cried for ALICE. I had never cried harder.

I proceeded in the battle. ALICE didn't bother trying before her HP was down to one - and it was her turn.

I couldn't take it...I couldn't. I will never forget what I did next.

"ALICE, NO!" I screamed, clicking "Run Away." The battle faded.

The game was eerily silent. All the girls stared at the screen.

"You stopped ALICE from being freed."  
>I was sobbing - I couldn't control it.<p>

"ALICE is suffering because of you."  
>I watched the screen in dismay. I hated myself.<br>Suddenly, I realized I could fix it. I dug into my bag and pulled out the Pokemon Yellow and Gameboy Advance.

"We can't connect it, Kendylle...they're two-"

"Pi-ka!" I turned to my DS. ALICE disappeared, and I looked at my Gameboy. We were in front of Pokemon Tower.  
>Regretting every step, I stepped into the tower.<p>

ALICE wants to be set free, ADA. Proceed?  
>YN.

I clicked Y, unable to control the tears.

"ALICE has been set free."

All four of us hugged and screamed out our tears. We must have cried for an hour - I forgot the Gameboy was turned on.

"Pi-ka-chu." All four of us glanced at it, and saw ALICE's last, sad smile, with a heart floating above her head, as the Gameboy shut off and all data was lost.


	8. Forgotten data

The first Pokémon game I ever played—but didn't own—was Pokémon Yellow. It was my first experience with the game, but I already watched the show, obsessed over the cards, and collected every piece of Pokémon merchandise I could get my hands on. The other day, when I felt like reliving that old first-time rush, I trashed my room and found Pokémon LeafGreen version. It looked a bit weird, a little darker than I remembered it being, but maybe I was just imaging things. Having not played the remake game for about two years, I didn't remember all that much about it, other than the main player characters. Ready for that old wave of nostalgia, ready to see Blue and Red, I pushed the game cartridge into my red Gameboy Advance SP, and clicked the power switch to on.

The game started with the usually title movie, ending with the screen with Venasaur, and the command to 'Press Start.' Smiling, already immersed in the old memories made new, I pressed the start button, and, after hesitating, hit 'New Game', saying a silent goodbye to the Pokémon on my old file.

The game started up with the button description menu in the help menu, a feature only available in the LeafGreen, and, I assume, the FireRed, versions. Clicking through it, I read about the world I was about to enter, and so on. I pressed the A button one last time, and Professor Oak came on screen. However, instead of saying his usual 'Hello, there! Glad to meet you,' followed by an explanation of what Pokémon are and what their world is like, this time it was different. Oak's posture changed the moment the light came on around him, and his face almost looked like it was frowning.

'Who are you?' it said. Not fully remembering if he usually said this or not, I shrugged it off and pressed the A button. The following script flashed up in the text box:

'You're not RED.'

My blood went cold.

'Who are you?' the game asked again. I twitched, scared to press the A button. However, my curiosity got the better of me, and I pressed it anyways. The next script scrolled through the dialogue box.

'Choose your name.' That seemed normal enough. Then: 'don't you dare say you're name is RED. That would be a LIE.'

Feeling just a tad creeped out, I entered my name as Daniel, like I usually do in the games. My hands shook, and it took a few typos before I got it right. As the game moved forward, I realized that it never gave me the option to choose whether I was a boy or girl.

Shrugging this off, I watched as the screen cut to the part where Oak asks you what his grandson's name is. However, instead of the lovable Prof being his ditzy self, and saying he's forgotten his own grandson's name, he just said 'Oh. You're Daniel. Thank you for not lying. Lying would be BAD. Being a FAKE is BAD.'

The randomly capitalized words were beginning to freak me out.

Oak turned and walked away, his form fading into the screen, greying into the pixels. The screen cut to black, then returned, this time with Blue. However, instead of standing in his usual cocky stance, he was turned slightly sideways, his face angled away from the front view. His hands were in his pockets, and he looked like he was slouching. He looked lost.

'You're not RED.' He said, repeating his grandfather's words. "You're the brown haired kid.' Another shiver went through my body, and goosebumps rose on my arms as the options 'YES' and 'NO' came up on screen. This was definitely not how I remembered the game from two years ago. I may have forgotten a lot of things, but I think I would have remembered if the game had talked to me and said I wasn't Red.

Frowning but intrigued now, I pressed A on 'NO'. More script from Blue: 'I am Blue. Don't name me something else. Because you would be WRONG.' I clicked A again, but all he said was '…' much like his original counterpart in the games. And then, like his grandfather before him, he turned and faded into the grey pixels making up the background. The screen faded to black again.

Creeped out now, I flicked the power switch. The screen went dark, and I sat there, my breathing shallow, and my heart racing. I closed my eyes and counted to a hundred. Opening them, I let out a sigh. I had imagined it. That was all. The only explanation. I'd been staying up too late the past few nights, crashing at about 4am, and I was probably just overtired. I watched the screen load, and the only option was 'Continue Game'. With a bad feeling deep in my gut, I pressed it.

The screen loaded black, and, as I watched in horror, I could just see Blue's shape still disappearing. As he faded completely, my own character came onto the screen. I couldn't be certain, but his face looked different. Sadder; almost bleak, or lost. Like normal, the full-sized player character shrank to the normal Sprite you play the game with, only, this time, there was no text box, saying 'Your very own adventure is about to take place!' Just the Sprite, standing in his room, looking at a NES. Still frowning, I decided to keep playing.

When I clicked on the NES, instead of saying 'Daniel played with the NES', it said 'it looks like no one has played it in a very long time', like when you go to Red's house in Kanto after beating the Elite Four in G/S/C/HG/SS. Same with the PC. Nothing would work for me. It just said it looked like no one had touched them in a long time. I knew that this was not the way the game was the first time I played it.

I guided the player Sprite across the room, and down the stairs. The game seemed to be moving extremely slow, the game play stuttering and sluggish. For a moment, I had a terrible thought… that Daniel was dragging his feet; that he didn't want to go downstairs and start his adventure. I shook this off, telling myself I was being an idiot. It was just a game, after all. Just data in a plastic cartridge, and nothing more.

Finally, I dragged my Sprite down the stairs, and into the main room. I walked past the TV, and over to the mother sprite. Instead of saying the usual bit about the TV saying all boys left home someday, the text box said: 'MOM: …you are not my SON.' Her sprite didn't turn to face mine, like they usually do when you talk to someone in the game. It remained facing forwards. When that was all she said, I clicked on her again. Still not turning, the dialogue box said: 'MOM: …where is my SON? Why won't HE come HOME? Why won't HE come back to ME?"

By this point, I was way past blaming the new game play on the fact that maybe my game cartridge had been damaged from being lost under my dresser or something. Disturbed, I kept playing. I needed to see how this played out.

I sent my character out of his house, into Pallet town. I wandered around, towards the grass, knowing that Oak would run out and stop me from going into the grass. But no one came out of the town to stop me. I stopped walking just short of the grass, not wanting to test what would happen if I went out without a Pokémon. Confused, I turned my character around, and walked towards the lab.

Instead of finding just Blue, and having him tell me it was 'just me' and that Oak wasn't there, I found them both. Oak's usual aides weren't there. It was just the two of them, and the three Pokéballs on the table. I picked Charmander, like I usually do. I named it Spike, and then my sprite turned to Blue by itself. I tried to move, but nothing happened when I pressed the D-pad. Frowning, I mashed the buttons, to no avail. A dialogue box finally popped up. It said:

'BLUE: …I won't fight you. You're not RED. I don't know who you are.'

There was another period of not being able to move, and nothing happening. It slowly dawned on me that my character and Blue were having something like a stare down. Finally, Blue's sprite turned and walked over to the table. One of the Pokéballs disappeared, and he walked out of the lab. Able to move again, I walked my character over to Professor Oak, and clicked A. He did not wish me luck. He did not tell me to take care of my Pokémon. All he said was '…'

Without me pressing any buttons, my character sprite turned and walked out of the lab like Blue had, of his own accord. He stopped outside the door, paused, wandered left, right, back, then right again. He looked like he was wandering around, lost. When I tried to make him move myself, nothing happened. I angrily mashed the buttons again. The help feature refused to come up. When I pressed A, however, a dialogue box finally popped up, saying:

'DANIEL is SAD.' I froze. Never had I encountered a point where the game actually addressed the character directly, other than in the form of another person figuring out who your character is. Frowning, I found that I still couldn't make the player sprite move. He had stopped wandering, and just stood there, looking slumped and forlorn. I pressed A again, and another text box sprang up.

'DANIEL: …who am I? I don't know who I am.' A strange feeling of sorrow came over me, along with fear. He may have been just a few blocks of data in a pixelated world, held in a battered game cartridge, but I've always felt like I have a real bond with my Pokémon and character, especially after having completed the Nuzlocke Challenge on this very game. I wished that I could just give my poor player a hug or something, and tell him that it would all be okay, that he and I would become the Champion together again.

I touched my fingertips to the screen, and more words popped up. Startled, I jerked my hand back and read them. It was strangely long for Pokémon dialogue.

'DANIEL: ….what's the point? It's all been done before me. All of it. ALL of it. Why should I do it again? I'm just a COPY. A copy of HIM. I can't ever live up to HIM. I don't want to. I took everything from HIM. I'm the brown-haired kid… I'm just a COPY-CAT. Why? Why did they make me?'

Shocked, I stared as the last text box faded off the screen. Nervous now, I hesitated, then pressed A again. My player Sprite spoke one more time.

'DANIEL: I'm just recycled from HIM. I'm a COPY of a COPY. I have to walk in HIS footsteps. I have no CHOICE. I am a PRISONER in HIS life.'

Before I could react, the text box cut off, and the screen went black. It stayed black for a few minutes, and my heart almost stopped. Stories of internal batteries finally kicking the bucket, of broken, glitched games, filled my head, and I panicked, flicking the power switch off and on a few times. Nothing happened. The backlight stayed lit inside my SP screen. After a few more minutes, something changed. The black lightened slightly, turning more grey, and my player sprite spun slowly into view, much like when you use an escape rope. The black screen slowly lightened even more, until it was almost white. There was a flash, and my character sprite was standing in snow. With a jolt, I recognized it as the place in HG/SS, where you meet Red on Mt. Silver.

After a moment of hesitation, I moved my character sprite forwards, along the ledge. As he moved forward, another sprite came into view. It looked similar to mine, but a few things were different, like the hat and minor details in the clothing. Once the new sprite was in full view, my character stopped moving. No matter what I did, he wouldn't move. It was like being back in Pallet Town again, when I was outside of the lab. With dread, I watched a dialogue box pop up. I had kind of expected this, but I had not expected it to be empty.

Finally, it faded, and the sprite I figured to be the real Red slowly revolved around to face mine. The little dots that form the eyes on the sprites, usually black, were red on this one. His hair was most definitely black, whereas my sprite's was brown.

The game seemed frozen, nothing happening, me still unable to move my character. At last, another dialogue box came up.

'DANIEL: …you're RED.' To my horror, unlike the rest of the words, which were the usual black, the word RED was the exact colour it spelled out. The dialogue box border had also turned a dark red, unlike the blue I had set it to be. Without me having to press the A button, the text script carried on by itself.

'DANIEL: …I don't know who I am. Or why I'm here. I—' the text cut off suddenly. A text bubble, like the ones in HG/SS that come up when you talk to your Pokémon, appeared above the Red sprite's head. But, instead of a heart or question mark, it was filled with an ongoing ellipsis that went on for as wide as the bubble was. This was only about 8 '…'s, but it still sent goosebumps up my arms. It seemed to be implying that Red's silence stretched on forever. Which I guess it did. Since he never spoke beyond '…' in the original games, I could only assume that he had been programmed without any dialogue. The "….." bubble disappeared, and another dialogue box appeared, scrolling through on its own again.

'DANIEL: No, I didn't come to take your place. I don't know why I'm HERE. They created me—no. No, I'm not lying.' More silence, and again the ellipsis bubble from Red. My character spoke again, and I realized that, somehow, the two were conversing within the game. Uneasy, I placed my SP on my desk, and, sitting down in my computer chair, I watched the conversation unfold all on its own.

'DANIEL: I'm a COPY of YOU. Sort of… I'm DIFFERENT.'

'RED: … … …..'

When that dialogue box appeared, I jumped. It was the first time Red had communicated without the ellipses bubbles. Looking closer, I could have sworn that the red pixels making up his sprite were brighter, their colour deeper. The red eyes seemed to flare and glow.

'DANIEL: It is like a cruel joke, yes. I don't understand either. I am a victim, too.'

'RED: ….. … .'

'DANIEL: No! I am! I am! I swear, I didn't come here to take YOUR fame. I didn't come here to replace YOU. I swear, I don't understand it either. THEY did this. THEY did. Not me.'

'RED: ….THEY. Did. This….?'

I nearly fell out of my chair when the words appeared in Red's dialogue box. I thought he couldn't speak. My eyes wide, I carefully picked my SP back up, waiting for it to explode or something. Nothing happened, and I looked back at the screen. They were silent again, the two sprites having a stare down akin to the one between my character and Blue in the lab.

A few minutes later, the text box reappeared.

'DANIEL…..'

I had to keep pressing A as the text kept scrolling, the ellipses going on and on, the text no longer running on its own. I finally reached the end of Daniel's silence, and there was only one word.

'YES'.

Red was definitely brighter now. His colour was so vivid, it looked to be bleeding into the white pixels making up the snowy background. I looked at Daniel. He looked… faded. He was no longer red. He was almost pink. Looking at Red again, I saw that several white squares around him were turning red. Little red pixel boxes, shaping something like an triangle beneath his sprite.

More text boxes appeared, the script once more running by itself, only much faster this time. My eyes raced to keep up with the words flying rapidly by on the screen.

'DANIEL: No, wait….stop I just…..it's not…my fault. Stop…..please I can't…no control'.

He was fading as he spoke, the pink merging into a dirty orange colour. All the while, Red grew brighter and brighter, burning a disturbing bloody colour. I had the sudden idea that Red was draining my player sprite of his ability to speak. Of his life, if that was what he had in this digital world.

'RED: THEY DID THIS TO US. THEY CREATED YOU. THEY DID THIS TO ME. YOU DID THIS TO ME. YOU ARE THEY. YOU MUST BE DELETED.'

Daniel's sprite was going grey now. I had tears in my eyes, and I couldn't stop the shivers rolling through my body. Every hair on my arms and legs and on the back of my neck was standing straight up. My scalp felt tingly and strange. I was terrified, yet I felt so sorry for the two characters inside the screen. They were trapped in this digital world, forced to live the same plot over and over and over. Sure, you reset your old game to start a new one, but who knew if the game ever really forgot the previous save files, or if they just piled up, on and on, decaying stories and forgotten lives.

The snow around Red was turning bright pink, and it had spread further around his sprite.

DANIEL…don't…please.

The text scrolled by so slowly, I almost thought the game was going to freeze right there. However, when Red spoke again, the text flashed by so fast, I almost didn't catch it.

RED: ''

As I watched, a weird sort of ripple distorted my player sprite's form, and he turned dark grey, then black, then white. He faded into the snow. I couldn't be sure if he was still there, or if he had just blended in with the background; became part of the date making up the scenery. I smashed the buttons, and nothing happened. Just nothing.

The screen moved; roaming forward until Red was dead center. The snow around him was dark, deep red; the entire cliff was bathed in the colour of blood. Red's eyes finally turned the black they were supposed to be. They seemed to melt down his face, dripping into the blood-coloured snow, black spots in all the red.

One last text box appeared, and it was all red; dark red words on a faded red background. The border dripped like candle wax.  
>RED: INTERNAL BATTERY HAS RUN DRY. SAVE FILE CORRUPTED. GAMEPLAY HAS CEASED<p>

The screen began to fade to black, until the only thing left was Red, and some of the polluted snow around his feet. There was a pause, and I was certain that the game had really frozen now. The screen suddenly flashed white, and the cliff Red was standing on seemed to disintegrate, the pixels exploding; stretching and distorting. Everything went completely black, the power and back lights shutting off completely. I stared at my SP, and shuddered. I turned away, disturbed, and stood up. As I moved away from the desk, a sudden screeching sound issued forth from my SP's speakers, and I screamed, grabbing it and forcefully shutting off the speakers. It didn't do anything. The screech went on. It felt like my head was splitting in two; no SP speakers should be able to make a sound so loud.

I lifted my arm to throw the SP against the wall, just wanting the terrible sound to stop, when it cut off mid-note. Startled, I looked down at the Gameboy in my hand.

It was red. Daniel's sprite, this time all black, flashed onto the screen. Then off. Then back. There was a sickening, low thumping sound issuing from the speakers. It sounded like… like a heartbeat.

Daniel pulsed into view three more times, then froze on the screen. His shape twisted, skewed, and morphed into Red, who faded from black to a slightly darker red than the background. A final dialogue box appeared.

RED: THEY cannot replace ME

Then the screen went entirely white, and large black letters scrolled across the blank background.

GAME FILE DELETED.

The screen went black.


	9. Nickname

My name is Kimberly, and I love Pokemon. But with my growing love for other Anime and video games, I hadn't played the Pokemon games in a long time. So I decided to again. I looked through my DS bag to find all my games. I found them, except for Platinum. Carefully placing the others on my bed, I look over them again to make sure I wasn't just missing it. I looked on the ground to see if I had dropped it, and saw my dog staring at me with that guilty look in her eye. Raising an eyebrow, I turned and looked under the table I had gotten my DS bag off of. I found Platinum… chewed to pieces. I let out a cry of disappointment. I had JUST defeated the Elite Four, and was planning to again! Luckily I convinced my mom to let me buy a new game.

Unfortunately, all the new Platinums had been sold out. I had to resort to a used one. No big deal, I could just start a new game. Used ones were cheaper anyway. The case was in pretty good condition, too. It had been tough working all the way to the end of the game, but trying to catch up would give me something to do.

When I got home, I popped it in my DS and turned it on. Everything was normal. Same logo, same credits, same Giratina. But strangely, there was no option for "New Game" or "Continue". There was only one: "Continue New", with some spaces blurred out between the two words and after "new". I couldn't make out what words the blurs were hiding. Weird. Maybe the previous owner was a hacker? I wouldn't know. I've never hacked or glitched a game in my life. I shrugged and selected it.

Once again, everything was normal: Professor Rowan lectured me (I skipped past it all), it asked for my gender, it let me pick a partner (I chose Piplup), etc. But it never asked for a name. I just kind of shrugged it off. It doesn't ask for your name until about 10 minutes of playing in Pokemon Ranger Guardian signs. Then again, that was a completely different game, and I had already played Platinum before. Oh well. Must be part of the glitch.

But when I started playing I discovered my character already had a name: Ina. That was weird. The endings of all my Pokemon characters' names are pronounced Ina. Malina for Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team, Sabrina for Ranger, Marina for Diamond, Cristina for Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time, Serena for Heart Gold, Elina for Shadows of Almia, Trina for Guardian Signs, Corina for Pearl, and Selena for my old Platinum. That had to be a coincidence… Right?

I played for a while, and everything was perfectly normal. The whole pre-named character thing eventually slipped my mind. My nameless Piplup was doing great and evolved into a Prinplup by my second gym badge. But after that is when things started to get freaky again.

I was wandering through the grasses when I encountered a wild Megnanium. Meganium? That Pokemon isn't even IN Platinum! My strongest Pokemon, my partner, was at level 31. This wild Meganium was at 100. Then it hit me: in Blue Rescue Team, I started as a Chikorita. But I finished the game long ago and now I'm a level 100 Meganium. Weird…

Only then did I realize I had no chance. All my Pokemon had their HP at zero, except for Prinplup. His was at 6. But all his PP had run out, except for in Bide. And there was only 1 left for that one. I was doomed.

Just for the heck of it, I threw a Poke ball. My jaw dropped. It wobbled once and caught the Pokemon. How?

Would you like to send this Pokemon to the PC? Yes/No

That was never an option before… Curious, I hit no.

Select a Pokemon to switch MEGANIUM with.

I switched out my weakest Pokemon, my Pidgey. Right now, this was looking to be a pretty sweet hack, or whatever it was.

Give this Pokemon a nickname? Yes/No

I selected no.

Malina has been switched with PIDGEY into your party.

Wait, Malina? I didn't name it Malina! I immediately went to look through my Pokemon. It had to be a glitch. My eyes widened a little. When I battled the Pokemon, it was male. Now it was female, and named Malina. I shook my head, thinking the hours of gameplay had burned my brain or something. I saved then turned the game off. That's enough for one day.

The next morning I decided to play the first Pokemon game I ever got: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team. I had nearly forgotten the whole Meganium thing. I had gone to bed after turning it off and figured I had been dreaming.

I selected continue, then was faced with something that puzzled me. I was a Pikachu, not a Meganium. I remained calm. I hadn't played in a while, and Pikachu was my partner in the game. I must have switched them. But when I left the team base, I was stunned. Normally, a cute little flag would be flying next to the Chikorita-shaped base. The flag was still there, but shrunken and black. It was still and not blowing, like the green one usually did. The base had been trashed. The door hung on a slant, the mailbox had been knocked over, a few holes were in the walls, and, strangest of all, there was something resembling blood on the wall of the base. An animated house in a children's video game had been vandalized. But… it was a video game! I had finished the game over a year ago and nothing important happened on the few occasions that I played. Was something important finally happening? No. Whenever something did, all the Pokemon in the little village thingy would show up, and Malina AND Pikachu would be there.

I decided to check the friend area where Malina is. Chikorita and Hoppip were there… but no Meganium. I saved and turned the system off, then turned it back on. Maybe it would say something about this in the records.

I flipped through it. Kyogre joined the team, Mewtwo joined the team, Unknown joined the team… All useless stuff! But on the last page, I found something. Normally, the font wasn't anything snazzy and was white. Written in red and in a font resembling "Chiller" said… "The leader has been taken from us." Then, the same exact blurry letters from in between "Continue new". Only this time, a little clearer. I could make out the letters W and C. That was it.

I made the naïve decision to play Platinum some more. I eventually came across a wild Plusle. Plusles didn't live in that part of the game… Again, must be hacked or glitched. This Plusle had no level or gender. Curious, I threw a Poke ball. It shook twice, then caught the Plusle. It asked the same questions as it had with the Meganium, and I answered the same.

Sabrina has been added to your party.

Sabrina? That was the name of my Pokemon Ranger character, and her partner was a Plusle! Creepy. Really creepy. I saved then popped in Pokemon Ranger. I was shocked at what I saw. The always-smiling little Plusle was no longer following my character. She wasn't wearing a ranger uniform anymore. I looked at my profile thing. I had been at ranger rank 10: now I was at 0. Any information about my styler was gone. But what shocked me the most was my character's appearance. Normally, she would be in a proud pose, her hair tied up, wearing her ranger uniform and holding her styler. Now her hair hung to her shoulder and looked uncombed. Her expression was apathetic, and she stood slouching slightly with her arms crossed. She wore a dirty t-shirt and jeans: no more ranger uniform.

But I was still in control of the game. I entered the Ringtown base. Maybe I could get some answers from the rangers there. Lunick's Minun, that usually was swaying back and forth happily, was standing still with a blank expression on his face. I walked up to Lunick and hit the A button.

"It's such a shame…"

I walked up to Murph and hit A.

"We really miss you here."

I walked up to Spencer. *A*

"I'm sorry Sabrina. But without a partner, you can't be a ranger."

What? Without a partner? Where was my Plusle? I decided to go to the spot in Fall City where I first met my Plusle. Joel was there. *A*

"You miss Plusle don't you? They took her away. Too bad they won't pay for what they did." They? Who is "they"? What did they do with Sabrina's Plusle? Then more text appeared. It was the blurred text from between continue and new again. I could still see the W and C, but now I saw more: "wi" and "ict". What else was there?

The days of Platinum that followed didn't improve. I caught a level 100 Infernape after the Poke ball wobbled 3 times, then the game named him Marina, and all 6 of my Diamond Hall of Fame entries were deleted. When I selected the Hall of Fame, the blurred text appeared. It hadn't gotten any clearer. I encountered a level 76 Swampert, but by then I knew better than to throw a Poke ball. But all options were blacked out except for "ITEMS". And all items had been blacked out except for the Poke ball. Unable to run, I had no choice. The ball wobbled 4 times, then the Swampert was caught. At that moment I noticed a pattern. The first game I ever got was Blue Rescue Team. The Meganium had been caught on the 1stwobble. My second game was Pokemon Ranger. I got the Plusle on the 2nd wobbled. My third game was Diamond, and I caught the Infernape on the 3rd wobble. Then the 4thwobble for the fourth game… And the game named the Swampert Cristina. When I turned on Explorers of Time, my partner, a Torterra, was alone and frowning in his picture in Sharpedo's Bluff. The bed that Cristina the Swampert usually slept was torn to shreds.

I didn't want to play Platinum anymore. But something kept drawing me into it. I played until I caught a Pachirisu named Elina and lost my first partner in Shadows of Almia, a Torterra named Corina and lost all my badges as well as my partner Pokemon in Pearl, a Typhlosion named Serena and got banned from the Pokemon League (and lost my partner of course) in Heart Gold, and a Pichu named Trina and had my character in Guardian Signs lose her job as a ranger. The game took control for all of these Pokemon captures. And in all the games where I had lost a partner, a text box would appear with the blurred words clearer each time. It took until my last game, Pokemon Ranger Guardian Signs, for the message to be revealed. I was terrified at what option I had chosen from the beginning: "Continue with new victim."

That scared the crap out of me. A video game was destroying my others, and sucking me into playing it. It was trying to become the most dominate game. Okay, shut up. That's stupid. It's a freaking GAME. So what if my other games were ruined? They were just games. I finished most of them anyway. This Platinum was no threat to me. It was actually becoming kind of fun to see what this glitch-fest had in store next.

When I turned on the game again, the letters were no longer blurred out. And I no longer cared. But there was another option: I could now view the previous owner's save file.

They were a boy. Their character's name was O. Huh. Kinda weird. I looked through his Pokemon. Charmando the Charmander. Mino the Minun. Bulbo the Bulbasaur. Picho the Pichu. How cute. The kid ended all of his Pokemon's names with O. Just like I end mine with Ina…. My heart skipped a beat.

His player didn't look like the normal male character in Platinum. He had blue eyes, short and neat brown hair, and a smile plastered on his face. But it looked fake, forced. His name was Alberto. A few months ago, a little boy named Alberto, who looked just like the previous owner's player, had been killed and featured on the news. Nobody ever knew how he died, they just found his room vandalized with some blood on the wall. He had vanished. Just like in Blue Rescue Team… I dropped my DS. That was impossible. It was JUST a game. I was too stubborn to believe otherwise.

To prove myself right, I went to my own file and played for a while. Everything was normal again, besides the 8 Pokemon I had apparently obtained from my other games. I beat 3 more gyms. I caught NORMAL Pokemon, and the game didn't by itself. I did. I was in control again.

Suddenly, I came across another wild Pokemon. Prinplup had evolved into Empoleon by now. Bring it on! I thought. But what I faced wasn't a Pokemon. It was a sprite with no face or anything. It was all blacked out, body and everything. What sent shivers down my spine, though, was this "Pokemon's" name: VICTIM.

Now there weren't any options to choose from. Not even ITEMS. Sweating, I switched the power button off. But it wouldn't move. It was sticking. Oh crap! I had put my DS next to a stick of gum the previous day, and since it was summer, it had melted. It must have got some stuck in the power switch!

Ina threw a Poke ball!

What? No I didn't! STUPID GAME! I began shaking the system. The screen froze after VICTIM had gotten into the Poke ball. I sighed, relieved. But the game soon sprung back to life.

Give this Pokemon a nickname? Yes

Why isn't there a no option?

Kimberly has been added to your party.


	10. Puppets

It has been a few years since I've picked up a pokemon game at all. Why…well, I'll get to that.

Nearly twelve years ago now, I received Pokemon Silver as one of my first video games ever. Needless to say, I treated that game as if it were my child. (Which is why my brother had to get his own copy when the time came..)

As time went by, I collected every game in Generation III and onward. Each game I beat, some I hacked, yet they all suffered the same fate; shut up alone within the cabinet.

Well, over the summer of my sixteenth year, my mom had to attend a buisness trip for about a week. My brother and I were left alone at the house with whatever we'd need until her return, and we were instructed not to leave the house unless it was absolutely necessary.

We were both bored out of our minds within four hours. At some point, an idea randomly popped into my head. Shaking my brother out of his dazed state of watching some reality television show, I suggested this: Pokemon game playing marathon.

We were both thrilled at the idea; I mostly because I hadn't played any of my once beloved games in at least a year, him because he hadn't had anyone to play with in that long. Gathering up our SPs, DSs, games, food, and drinks to last for a couple of days, we locked ourselves in my room.

I decided to start with my newest game, HeartGold. I planned to work my way all the way to my original Silver, which hadn't been touched in well over six years.

As I progressed through the beginning of the game, I remember my one wish that repeated through my mind; "I wish I could be there instead" as I looked down at the sprite with a pang of jealousy.

What seemed like only a few minutes of gameplay later, my eyes snapped to my brother, who was shaking me rather violently at this point. My eyes, feeling as if I'd come out of some sort of trance, looked angrily at his when I saw the look of fear in his innocent green eyes.

"What's wrong?" I asked, looking at him questioningly as my anger quickly dissolved into worry.

"You were muttering to yourself," he said quietly, "You wouldn't even look up at me for fifteen minutes. I got worried." He frowned slightly after this, and then returned to his game.

I snorted at his shortly lived worry over my well-being, picked up my Ds, and was slightly startled by where I was in the game. I found myself lost within the Ruins of Alph, and began to wonder just how long I had played. How far had I gotten…it felt like I'd been somewhere else while I was playing. Looking at my badges on my trainer card, that seemed impossible. I'd beaten the league already, but apparently hadn't went to Kanto yet. Just as I hit the b button to exit the screen, I did a double take. I re-entered the menu and jumped at what I saw.

Perhaps it was just my imagination, but my trainer sprite was staring directly at me, smiling in a way that seemed almost…creepy? Nah, it had to be my imagination. Putting down my Ds, I decided I probably should take a break. I poured a drink, layed back on my bed, and relaxed for all of five seconds.

Something compelled me back to my games. I played through SoulSilver, quickly getting through to the elite four. As I checked my trainer card before proceeding forward to beat the tar out of them…there it was again. That creepy stare that seemed to see into my very soul.

At this point, I felt sick. Thank God for the bathroom attatched to my bedroom. After the wave of nausea had passed, I walked back to my bed, seeing my little brother curled up in my chair, I quickly fell onto my bed and passed out.

I was awake a little over four hours later. A cold sweat had broken out all over me, my nausea fully returned, and my breathing sounded chaotic. Hiding under my covers, I put my head between my knees and tried to pull myself together. I knew I had had a nightmare…but, strange as it is, I couldn't remember what happened. I don't remember blacking out again, but it was noon the next day before my brother shook me awake.

"C'mon Audrey, we've hardly made a dent in the collection yet!" he said enthusiastically.

In return, I heaved a labored sigh. A heavy weight seemed to be on my chest, making my breathing a little harder than usual. Shaking this off as if it were nothing, I looked curiously over to my SP. I felt compelled to switch on Silver, as if it would put my mind at ease.

Warily I picked up the tiny console, switched it on, and continued my previous game from years earlier. I walked all around Johto, checking my precious party pokemon from years ago. Their sprites, though, caught my eye. They looked sad, as if neglected, and I wondered if it was only my imagination.

Then I headed to Kanto. As the magnet train pulled up in Saffron city, I immediately flew out toward Lavendar town, seeing as it has always been my favorite place within the game.

As I stood there in the middle of the tiny town, it was almost as if I expected something to happen (I've been a fan of creepypasta for a year now, and Lavendar town tends to be a common theme…that must've been what I was thinking). After exploring every square inch of the town, I decided on what I wanted to do; I'd beat Red.

When I was a kid, I'd trained my pokemon up to level 90 or so each. I only had one that had a perfect 100 level, my pride and joy Espeon. I hadn't even known that Red existed in the old game, as odd as that is, but I quickly learned after beating SoulSilver and HeartGold years later.

I flew to Viridian City, walked through the route until I reached the road to Mt. Silver. I looked at my pokemon, doing my best to ignore their sprites to avoid freaking my paranoia out again, and judged them to be battle ready. Their cries sounded different when I had looked at each of them individually, but I couldn't place what was different about them. Must've just been the older sound that I was hearing.

Still, I couldn't shake that odd feeling that had been hanging over me for hours. I quickly ascended Mt. Silver, and found that as I continued upward it was progressively getting dimmer on my screen. My game was eight years old, so I expected something to be wrong.

Finally, I found Red standing, silent as ever, at the top of the mountain. I smiled; I knew I was ready for this. As I interacted with Red, the screen cut to black. Ready to scream a profanity (like any avid player would at their game suddenly cutting off) I realized text had appeared on the screen.

'Hello Audrey…'

I squeaked involuntarily. I thought about it a minute, wondering if maybe I had named my character that so long ago. Unfortunately not, to my dismay. I saw the tiny arrow blinking rapidly under the text, and I pressed on.

'We've been waiting for you, Audrey…' with this, I heard the cries of many pokemon, all distorted to a point that sounded demonic. My eyes widened as I realized that each pokemon cry was one of my pokemon, each from the parties of every game I owned.

I screamed, quickly chucking my SP at the wall with enough force to knock the batteries out of it.

"What the hell, Audrey? Did you lose to Red or something?" My brother looked at me oddly, as if I were some psycho.

I looked back at him, pale as a ghost and shaking. I couldn't find my voice, couldn't tell him off for taking this as one of my temper tantrums.

After a few minutes, I finally had my control back. "Alex, I need you to do something for me."

"Yeah?" he looked at me, slightly annoyed as he always was when I asked him to do something.

"Go get the key off the fridge and lock me in here. Don't ask why. Give me an hour, then come unlock the door. Okay?" I knew this had to sound really screwed up to him, but he shrugged and walked out of my room.

A couple of minutes later, I heard the lock click. I heard his voice through the door.

"Are you sure about this? I always thought you freaked out when you were alone," he sounded worried again, but I shook my head.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Go listen to some music or something, you need a break from pokemon for a while."

With that, I heard his feet thumping up the stairs. I breathed out a sigh, walked over to my SP, and retrieved the batteries. Popping them back in, I tried to turn on the console. Surprisingly durable, the game flicked back on, still at the same point of text I'd seen only twenty minutes earlier.

"What do you want from me?" I whispered at the game, an uninvited rush of adrenaline making my blood run cold as I stared at the tiny screen.

In response, my screen stalled in the same spot. Quietly at first, then increasing in volume after a few seconds, the Unown radio song started playing. (Couldn't remember the actual name at the time…)

The screen faded back into Mt. Silver, the music still creeping me out as I realize what is on the screen. A line of sprites stood there, staring at me darkly.

That's when the text started again. (I should probably warn you that I had a bad habit of naming my player Drea…my favorite—well, what used to be my favorite—childhood nickname.)

DREA: We used to be heroes to you.

DREA: We used to mean everything to you, Audrey.

DREA: Now we're nothing. Why? Why, Audrey?

DREA: WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY?

I looked at the screen, smacking my hand against my head as if it would stop the nightmare. Each DREA was different; I recognized every sprite on the screen. Heartgold, Soulsilver, Platinum, Pearl, Diamond, Emerald, Sapphire, Ruby, Firered, Leafgreen…and finally, my old Silver sprite. I didn't try to keep up with which one said what because I didn't care. Nothing could make this any worse.

DREA: You cannot escape us now.

DREA: You threw us into the dark and dust, as if we were nothing anymore.

DREA: And now you have the nerve to wish you were us?

I stiffled a scream, trying not to alert my brother that anything was wrong. My whole body felt cold, numb; it was as if I wasn't there anymore. How could the game have known what I had thought? Was it possessed?

DREA: We spent so long, being your loyal puppets.

DREA: Now it's our turn, Audrey.

The cold intensified. My head started spinning until I couldn't feel anything anymore. I was in a vast darkness, surrounded by absolutely nothing. I screamed loudly, but no noise came out. Where in God's name am I? was the only thought that I could make sense of.

That's when I felt my legs begin to move involuntarily. My vision had cleared up; I was in some kind of mountain. I looked down at myself, and realized my body was nothing more than a group of pixels.

I screamed until my throat felt raw. Below me, I could make out a text box that summed up pretty well what I had just said.

AUDREY:   
>!<p>

I had no idea who was controlling me, but I had a hunch. If those sprites in my games could throw me out of my own body, maybe they were controlling me now. I wished that I could hear the outside world, wondering if I'd hear the cruel laughter of my new self, or the startled cry of my brother.

I tried to push through to the other side. If I stayed trapped within this game, there was no way I could be sure of what my body was doing. Not sure at this point if my sprite was imitating my spirit's actions, I sat down with my legs crossed in the lotus position. I attempted to meditate and put every bit of power I had into pushing my mind into my body again.

The darkness was around me again, my entire being feeling utterly cold. After a few seconds, I realized I'd made it back into my body. My head pounded, my brain felt like it was going to splatter against the sides of my skull. Every inch of my body felt cold and strained, and I felt absolutely sick.

I was sick twice, maybe three times. I stayed there, laying on the plush rug on the bathroom floor with my hands clutching my head tightly. It had been pushing at me the entire time, whatever entity it was that had taken over my body was trying to throw me out again. I felt my conciousness slipping with every breath I took, but what could I do?

It dawned on me that I could only think of one way out. I picked myself up, a wave of dizziness nearly throwing me off my feet again as I stared at the mirror. I lifted my arm and punched it with what strength I had left, shattering the image I'd just saw.

My eyes had looked soulless. My hair stringy, matted down to my head by cold sweat. That sickening, gruesome grin that had stuck on my face beyond my own control.

I slid into the floor and picked up a large shard of glass. I held onto it so tightly that it cut into my hand. Ignoring the blood oozing down my arm, I plunged the shard into my stomach with every bit of strength left in my body. I blacked out.

—-

What seemed like years later, I woke up in the hospitial. My mother and my brother stood on one side of me. There were hugs given, there were words said and tears shed; that is, until the question came up.

"What happened to you, Audrey?" My mom asked me, a few tears still in her eyes.

I looked up at her, trying to look as honest as possible as I said, "I don't know."

"She probably freaked out because I locked her in her room and forgot about her," my brother said quietly, eyeing me with suspicion.

"ALEXAND—!" "I told him to do it."

My mother looked down at me again, surprised, confused, and angry.

"What sweetie?" she said as calmly as she could manage.

I repeated myself quietly, "I told him to lock me in my room. I don't remember why, but I just really wanted to be alone. I guess he forgot that I told him to come get me in an hour."

—-

As soon as I was released back home, I took a hammer and demolished every single game I had. My SP and DS were destroyed; none of it survived. The large pile of rubble was promptly thrown away, and I smiled for the first time in a while.

—

I had always been an Autophobic. I'd had panic attacks as a small child because of it.

After a few months of psychiatric therapy, I was declared to be clean and the cause of my suicide attempt was said to be linked to my phobia.

…..Well, to them, that is. Because nobody would believe my story if I told them. I've since become a college student, and I took up a class in the paranormal as a result of the incident years ago.

Whether you believe what I've told you, well…that's up to you.

But I beg you to believe what I have to say next…

Be careful what you wish for.


	11. You're not Gold

Allow me to just begin with this… What I encountered this time happened within a normal game. Pokémon SoulSilver, to be exact. So I find myself unable to truly make a log out of this… But please, still hear me out. It began very early this morning… But, I was still asleep. I was woken up by a loud knock on my door. Whoever it was ended up knocking for about ten minutes, because I was incredibly slow getting out of bed, for I tend to meet a very difficult time sleeping at night, for obvious reasons. When I finally did get out of bed and to the door, I was greeted by my partner, who, unlike myself, was wide awake. He asked me, "You were asleep? That's a first in a while…" I responded, "Yes… What is it? You find something?" He answered, "Yes… But, it was this." From his hands he showed me a… Pokéwalker?

"Where did you find this?" I asked. He said, "Nowhere really strange actually, I guess found it lying on the ground…" I said, "Well, I'll just hold on to it, then. I'm sure there isn't anything strange about it, though…" He told me, "Remember the Celebi event in my HeartGold game? I believe there might be…"I said, "Maybe… But I doubt it. You may leave now." Nodding, he left. I thought to myself, "Really, a Pokewalker? I've nothing to be concerned about with this one…" I didn't even get to it right away; I sat it down, and went to go rest my eyes for a few more hours… When I woke up, I went back to the object. It seemed like any other; Pokéball shaped, screen, buttons… That is, until I turned it on. I held the middle button for a while before it turned on. The Pokémon inside was a Quilava, who had taken 296 steps, well, for today anyway, likely from my partner walk with it, it was in White Lake… And possessed three items. But, when attempting to see what items it had, the object refused to open the "Pokémon and Items" menu. I noticed that there were 9999 watts in it, so whoever dropped it must have gone on a long walk with it. When I went back to the Quilava, a "speech" bubble appeared to the left of it, with the "blank" face in it. If you do not know, it looks like this:

'_'

I expected it to say something like "QUILAVA is daydreaming." or "QUILAVA is looking this way." But instead, it said;

"Who are you…?"

It hit me… The oddities were starting. There was nothing else to really check… It was a Pokéwalker, anyway; not much to examine. There was only one more thing to do… I had to transfer it to one of my games. While my partner had HeartGold, I had SoulSilver. This time, I got out my blue DS, which I had not touched in quite a long time, because I had been far in my research, and only used the silver DS. You may ask why I have two of them… I was given the silver one by my partner, who had no notion that I already had a DS. But enough of that.  
>There was, of course, nothing different about the SoulSilver gameplay… It was a regular game. I skipped the introduction so that I could hurry up and get to the start. When I did, I selected "connect to Pokéwalker", and the green-skinned screen showed up, along with the happy-go-lucky background music. I chose the "Return from a Stroll" option, and the screen said, "The Nintendo DS will connect to the Pokéwalker. Point at the DS Card and select 'CONNECT." I understood perfectly how this worked, so I held the DS still, and did what was told.<p>

"Connecting to Pokéwalker. Please wait…"

It took abnormally long for the screen to change… At the bottom of the screen, it said,

"It refuses."

I had never received that message before, nor did I know that it even existed. But, I didn't care. All I wanted was to get this Pokémon in so I could check up on it. So, I tried a numerous amount of times; six to be exact…

"It refuses."

"It refuses.."

"It refuses…"

"It refuses…."

"It refuses….."

"…QUILAVA has arrived!"

When it finally transferred, and the bottom of the screen said, "Saving… Don't turn off the power," I took a good look at the Quilava. It had no intimidating features on it… It was just a normal Quilava. The items it had were all the same… Cornn Berries, which, by my own experience, were quite common in White Lake. After the transfer was complete, the little "log" of the stroll appeared, and after about ten pages, it ended with;

"QUILAVA is very content! This is a day it will never forget!"

I was finished, and was taken back to the start screen with the 3D flying Ho-oh. Pressing start, I went to my game file. I had saved in Kanto, in the Cerulean City Pokémon Center. This was quite convenient for me, because I could pull the newly transferred Pokémon from the nearby PC. I booted up the PC, and selected, "WITHDRAW POKÉMON". The Quilava was in a lone box, box number six, because the other boxes were full. Before adding it to my party, I decided to examine its stats. It was a level 20… Young for its evolution stage. It was holding an item as well; it was a Wepear berry which made little sense, because the berry was notably useless other than making Poffins, Pokeblocks, or Powder. It had a decent, but mediocre moveset as well, one of the moves taught by a TM;

FRUSTRATION

QUICK ATTACK

FLAME WHEEL

SMOKESCREEN

I wanted to begin training it to learn better moves and evolve, so I withdrew it, and left the Pokémon Center. To begin the training with an easy start, I headed to the west to train it in that impassable patch of grass east of Mt. Moon on route 4. When I reached the grass, and after walking around a little, I made a wild Pokémon encounter with a level 8 Spearow. I ended up sending out my Feraligatr- it was in the front of my party- but I switched it out with the Quilava. This gave the Spearow a chance to attack.

"SPEAROW used PECK!"

This did very little amount of damage, considering the comparison of the two Pokémon's levels. Just out of sheer curiosity, used Frustration to see how much amount of damage it would do. It did a moderate amount, but this was understandable, considering the fact that I had just received this Pokémon. But, the Spearow still fainted due to its own low level. After the battle, I made the choice to move the Pokémon to the front of my party so I wouldn't have to switch out every time. Once I did, I spoke to it. A question mark appeared above its head.

"QUILAVA doesn't know you…"

This did not concern me at all; of course it didn't know who I was, I had just transferred it. Then, a thought came up; I needed to give it another item, that Wepear berry would do it no good at all. I opened up the team menu, and tried to take the item away from the Quilava, the menu would close out, and the "walking" sprite of it would have an angry face appeared above its head.

"QUILAVA refuses to give you the item…"

I made an irritating number of tries getting the item away from it, but I gave up; it wouldn't let that thing go. I failed to comprehend… Why was it so attached to an item with no function whatsoever? I spoke a few more times after that, it having sad faces above its head each time.

"QUILAVA is confused…"

"QUILAVA wants to know where it is…"

"QUILAVA wants to know who you are…"

"QUILAVA doesn't like it here…"

After the last message, I wanted to take it to Johto to see its old home; I could tell that it had not been to Kanto before… No where NEAR. It was only a level 20, so it hadn't even been through all of Johto yet. I first had to fly to the Indigo Plateau using my Pidgeot, and then I flew to New Bark Town, where it came from. I talked to it again.

"QUILAVA remembers this place."

"QUILAVA still doesn't know you…"

"Where is GOLD?"

This indicated that the player it once belonged to was male, and had been named GOLD. I talked to it some more.

"Where is PIDGEOTTO?"

"Where is RATICATE?"

"Where is EKANS?"

"Where is KAKUNA?"

"Where is TOGEPI?"

"This is not HEART…"

The Pokémon named were obviously members of its former team, and the last phrase it said suggested that it came from HeartGold, not SoulSilver. I didn't talk to it anymore; I just walked to the west, toward Cherrygrove City. I encountered a Sentret. I sent out the Quilava again, and chose the move Flame Wheel… But it did the opposite.

"QUILAVA used FRUSTRATION!"

This time, the attack was at a higher level, and did a lot of damage… But the Sentret was a level 2, so it would have fainted anyway… Right? The battled ended, and the Pokémon spoke on its own this time, without me even talking to it. It had an angry face above its head.

"QUILAVA doesn't want YOU to battle with it!"

The angry face switched to sad.

"Where is GOLD?"

The capitalized "you" sent chills down my spine… It specifically meant that it didn't want ME, as an individual player, using it. So be it; I moved it to the last slot, bringing my Feraligatr back to the front. I flew back to Kanto; if I didn't use the Quilava, there wouldn't be an issue. I landed in back Cerulean City; I wanted to train in the cave in the north. I entered Cerulean Cave, and had one of my Pokémon use Flash to light up the cave. I traveled a good while, until I got to B1F. Then, I was interrupted from my game, by my partner's knocking at the door.

"Hey, you up?"

I opened the door, and answered, "Yes, I have been for a while now… What is it that you want from me?"

"Nothing really… I just wanted to check on you. Have you checked the Pokéwalker Pokémon yet?"

"Yes…"

"How is it?"

I didn't want to tell him about the Quilava, for I wasn't completely educated on  
>it, so I said;<p>

"It's fine… It's a Quilava, by the way."

"Oh… So, that's it, then?"

"Yes, for now."

"OK. I'll go now."

And he left, me closing the door. I returned back to the game. My Feraligatr was still behind me, and I walked around to find a Pokémon to fight. I soon encountered a level 49 Wobbufet. However, I did not send out my Feraligatr. I sent out the Quilava instead. I had no idea how it got to the front. I knew that I wouldn't stand a chance against the Wobbufet, and the Wobbufet's ability wouldn't let me run, so I opened the Pokémon party to switch out. I almost dropped my DS. ALL of my Pokémon, except the Quilava, had fainted. I was forced to use it, but I was somewhat relieved, because the Wobbufet would beat it, and I would black out and be taken to a Pokémon Center, where I could use a PC and deposit this rather deranged Pokémon. I, again, chose Flame Wheel, but it refused to listen to my commands.

"QUILAVA used FRUSTRATION!"

I watched in both awe and terror as the HP of the Wobbufet went down to zero extremely quickly, as if I had just defeated a level 2 Magikarp. After that, I headed for the exit, but it must have taken about 30 minutes to do so, because I was aggresively bombarded with disturbing text boxes every ten steps, which said things like;

"QUILAVA HATES this place!"

"QUILAVA does know you, or LIKE you!"

"GOLD?"

"YOU are not my owner!"

"GOLD, help…"

"I DON'T KNOW YOU!"

The Pokémon had begun talking to me personally, in first person, out of its own mouth... This was too much. It didn't help that I had no Repels on me, and I kept encountering high-level Pokémon, which were easily taken out by the angry Pokémon. When I finally got out, it said with an angry face appearing;

"STAY AWAY FROM ME! GIVE ME BACK TO GOLD!"

"G-get me out of here…"

I had an option. I flew to the move-deleter's home, and got rid of Frustration. But, it didn't work. When I made another encounter, it used Frustration, even though the move was deleted. It obviously didn't require any move to show its anger. Its backsprite changed; its eyes were now infuriated, and it had small but visible tears in its eyes. After defeating the Pokémon, it said;

"You're not GOLD."

That was all it said from then on. Every twenty steps, I got that message.

"You're not GOLD."

"You're not GOLD."

"You're not GOLD."

"You're not GOLD."

"You're not GOLD."

It soon became apparent on why it didn't give the Wepear berry to me; even though it was useless, it was given to it by its original trainer. I finally reached a Pokémon Center, so I healed my fainted Pokémon, quickly used the PC before the Quilava could do or say anything else, and put the it in the same box it was in before. If I switched it with a Pokémon in the other boxes, it may have killed them all. I saved the game, and switched it off. I retrieved the Pokéwalker, and immediately transferred the Quilava back to it. I then rushed to my partner's home, and knocked on his door. Opening it, I told him;

"Take this to the Lost and Found. NOW."

"…Alright, but how will you know that the original owner will be the one to pick it up?"

"Trust me, they will pay the consequence if they aren't."

"…"

Despite his apparent confusion, he listened to me, and took it to the neighborhood Lost and Found. Even though the Quilava is gone now, and I more than likely will never see it again, it still bothers me… The amount of dedication it showed to its trainer to the point of hostility… It made me wonder why it even had the move Frustration in the first place. That is all I have to say… Goodbye again.


	12. The secret of the chateau

I had just entered the Old Chateau that one night at 11:00 PM in my Diamond version… I was all alone in my bedroom, with no individual monitoring my gameplay. Normally, no one ever did, and that was sensible, but that night, I longed for someone to. The abandoned mansion; or at least, I had first thought it was abandoned; it frightened me. It was a terrifying, run-down place housing not only haunted pictures, menacing televisions, a glowering statue, and, of course, ghost Pokémon, but two beings taking the form of an elderly man and a little female child… They scared me the most in my first encounter inside this place. They still do, no matter how many times I go in. The old man was first seen in the rotting kitchen on the first floor's center room, which is to the right of the statue between the stairs, at the filthy table, and he would stay in his spot for a single moment facing my direction, and then float at considerable speed to the west of the room. I tried chasing him, looking for him, but he would always be absent. This was similar with the young girl… When entering the was it the next to last room in the hallway on the second floor with six small rooms, the fifth room with the evil picture, I would occasionally see her in the sixth room, to the right of it… I would go in and out of the room to make sure I was not seeing things. She would continue appearing; but not always. She would look in my direction for a brief second, although she could not see me through the wall seperating us… Or could she…And she would float out of the room. Soon, she stopped appearing. I never saw her again afterward, even if I left the room after her.

But, even with all of the madness in this one mansion, only one thing truly bothered me persistently… There was this sign in the western part of the dining room, the domain of the elderly man's spirit, which was somehow unreadable. Even if you pressed the "A" button against it… You got nothing, not even a sound effect. It grew very irritating to me, though it was not nessacary to be… What did it say? My curiosity and wonder got the better of me, and that night, I walked up to the sign, and pressed the "A" button.

Nothing.

And then; I don't know why I did it, I should not have; I repeatedly pressed the "A" button; not too fast, just normally. Nothing happened, until I heard the "ding" sound effect of an interaction, and the text box that followed after read;

"…We're dead.

…We both are."

That was odd, and to be honest, I was startled by the sudden appearance of the text box. But, I shook it off very quickly; at least I knew what the sign said now. The box closed, and I left the room. I stood myself there in front of the square entrance, in thought. What that sign said; what did it mean, and who wrote it? I made an assumption; maybe, just maybe, did the two human souls write that? I was so deep into this, that I hadn't realized that it had grown eerily silent within the area. Of course, the soundtrack to the Chateau was haunting, but I soon realized that the place was even more unsettling with the music off and the volume turned up fully. I stayed still, not moving, thinking something unexpected and unpleasant would happen if I did…

…

The statue. It moved.

Well, not necessarily. Changed is more like it. It usually had an entirely gray palette, but this palette was infiltrated by a bright red, which had been placed on its eyes. I finally decided to move, coming face to face with it, and I pressed the "A" button.

"It is glaring."

I barely had the time to think before the screen blinked repeatedly, thought no battle music was present, and a Pokémon appeared on an oddly white battle screen; it was a gray Charizard with gray flesh and cracks all over its body, along with a broken wing. It emitted a distorted cry of rage… Or was it of pain?

"Mother's STATUE appeared!"

Mother? They meant… My mother? Or someone else's? If so, whose mother, exactly?

I sent out my Empoleon, which easily took out the Charizard with a single Hydro Pump, but then something unexpected, and rather sickening occurred. Instead of fainting, the statue let out an ear-piercing cry and I watched as it fell apart, little by little. The head seperated from the neck, the neck from the body, and so on, making the ear hurting noises of cracking rock. I was taken back to the mansion. The statue was gone, and the young girl spirit was standing behind me…

"That was mommy's statue."

So that had been the statue of the child's mother…Pretty creepy if you ask me. I knew immediately upon seeing the little girl that I had made a mistake in destroying the statue, or at least I believed so. But, she did nothing, nor did she say anything, except;

"…He killed her."

And with those last words, she floated up the western stairs. But I didn't chase after her; I knew she wouldn't be there. I wanted to leave, to get away from this twisted place altogether. But each time I walked to the exit, I would stay on the red mat, frozen, and the screen would tell me;

"…Don't go… You are our only company…"

I attempted this over eight times, but I would be told the same thing. I eventually quit trying, and investigated the place a little more. I went upstairs to the second floor, and went in the fifth room, with the picture. Like the statue, this too had been altered, for it no longer had the red eyes. The elder's ghost was standing in front of it. I walked over to him, and he turned around with me pressing any buttons.

"…"

Another battle began; it was against the elder, again, with no music playing. It didn't say "_ would like to battle!" of course, filling in the blank with whatever trainer class the man was; he just automatically sent out his Pokemon as soon as the fight began.

"_ sent out _!"

Not only was his own name absent, but so was his Pokémon's, which, as extra information, was a regular looking Gengar. So I never found out who he actually was. I sent out my Empoleon again… But I couldn't attack. Each attempt I made, it would say;

"EMPOLEON is too scared to move!"

This was unusual; the last time I heard this phrase was in another Pokémon game… I grew concerned. This was a trainer battle, to say the least, so I couldn't run away from this. But, I must confess, seeing the Gengar frightened me as well. It was not looking upward, but downward, straight at my Pokémon, while it mouth was somewhat forcefully curved into a false frown. For attempted intimatation, perhaps? Well, it was certainly working.

"EMPOLEON fled!"

This was also unusual; my Pokémon never fled on their own. I should also point out that the "Got away safetly" sound effect was absent, and replaced by what sounded like a "WHOOSH". The Gengar was withdrawn, and the elder's sprite appeared from the top of the screen rather than the right of it, and he said… Well, I don't truly know, actually. It was a mess of garbled letters, and the last word was the only thing I could make out, and almost every other letter in it was capitalized. It went something like this;

"Them anpoi sonedth ec oupleandle ft ust odie…

… RevEnGe."

I didn't understand, but the battle withdrew, and the man was gone, and so was the picture. With a sigh, I opened my Pokémon team, I was in for a surprise. My Empoleon; it was gone. I selected the first Pokémon in my party, which was now my Staraptor, but my Empoleon's summary appeared instead. The summary page of my missing Pokémon was strangely normal- that is, until I reached its move section. All of its attacks were absent, and replaced with "Curse." Just "Curse". What bothered me was, there wasn't just one Curse. It went something like;

Curse

Curse

Curse

Curse

All four move slots were full of the same move, which was abnormal for a Pokémon game. But then, I say to myself silently, it matters not, my Pokémon is gone. So, I didn't waste my time on it anymore, and closed the menu fully. I took single steps; they were small and slow ones, as I had much caution. I made my way out of the second floor hallway, and was alerted with something that I wished more than ever not to be alerted with:

"REPEL's effect wore off…"

I knew that I was supposed to buy some more of those things before I went anywhere. Now, I knew I would meet some terrifying things while trapped in the maddening place; why was I so curious about that insignificant sign anyway? Apparently, the designers of the Pokémon games did not want anyone bothering with it, so they made the result of desperately trying to decipher it a huge mind screw. I wanted out, I didn't care how.

The game went shockingly smooth; I encountered the usual Pokémon; Gastly, and low-level ones, too. I told myself that I should be relieved; but I wasn't. Why? Because, my Empoleon was still missing. That was not right…

Of course, things stopped running smoothly when I saw it again. That Gengar, with the same feigned frown, and, like my first Pokémon, my Staraptor fled as well. The Gengar faded away afterward. Excellent, now two of my Pokémon were missing, and the worse part of it was that I had no idea why, or how I could get out of whatever hidden event was going on. I opened the menu again, and sure enough, my Staraptor was gone. I opened up the Pokémon menu, with my Bibarel up in front, but my Empoleon's summary still the first, with the move Curse filling up all of the slots. The next summary in line was my Staraptor's and it had the same plague;

Curse

CUrse

CuRse

CursE

Some of the letters of the attacks name were capitalized; for reasons I cannot explain. The only letter that hadn't been capitalized was the letter "S"; then, I found out, after some closer observation, that the letters spelled something.

C

U

R

E

They spelled out the word "cure". I did not look into it; I didn't care about it. I was just a coincidence, I told myself. All I was concerned about was that the ghost's Gengar was let loose in the chateau, with me in it. I understood that standing around would do me no good, so I began walking again, only to encounter that awful Gengar again; the same process occurred over and over again; I ended up losing the rest of party helplessly, I could do nothing. My team was soon empty; I was all alone in this haunted mansion- something that I had always feared. A text box appeared saying;

"The death of my mommy and daddy…

Was it YOUR doing?"

I guessed that this must be the young girl, the way and tone she spoke in… Her parents had both been killed, obviously. But, I also knew for a fact that I had nothing to do with it. I didn't even know the true backstory to this place…

Suddenly, both of them; the ghosts of the two people, came from downstairs; I felt a chill go down my back. The elder faced me, with the child next to him, and told me;

"See this."

Then, another screen appeared that I didn't recognize, it seemed to be a sheet from a notebook, the stationary being torn and yellowing. It was a journal entry. It went like this, and I will try to recite it at well as my memory will allow me to;

November 10th, 1909

Dear Diary,

I am finished traveling, for I have grown too old, and I have already fulfilled my dream of seeing the world. My final place is here in Sinnoh, and here I choose to remain until my life ends. But, I cannot just do nothing in my stay here; I must find a temporary job. Until then, I will find refuge in Eterna City, in one of the apartments. It is late; I shall stop writing now."  
>The entry ended there, and the screen switched back to the chateau. The two had vanished, but the screen informed me of something.<p>

"Find more."

I didn't want to go on, with my Pokémon missing, but I was forced to. I first explored the left room up the stairs on the second floor; the room was very small, formerly possessing a single item. But now, it had what seemed to be a sheet of paper in the middle of the floor. I went to examine it, and was greeted with another journal entry.

November 13th, 1996

Dear Diary,

I grew bored today. In my boredom, I headed for the west of Eterna; the lake there is so clean and riddled with Magikarp-hoarding fisherman… When passing the bridge, I was met by the entrance of the forest. Upon my entering, I saw it. The most lovely mansion. I have never seen such complex and beautiful architecture in my long running life. In front of the mansion, there was an adorable little child playing with her Pokémon in the grass. Seeing her; it made me nostalgic for my childhood… But that is far behind me now. The girl; she greeted me sweetly, and was quick to introduce me to her mother and father, who were so very high class, and yet so very kind to an old soul like me… I am back home now, maybhap I should return to the mansion tomorrow…

It stopped there. I exited the room, looking for more of the entries, for I was gaining interest in the old man's log… I soon found another in the place the statue once was…

November 14th, 1996

Dear Diary,  
>As I had planned to, I went for the chateau once again. And I got more than I bargained for… But this was for the better. As it turns out, the couple was in search of a paid valet in their lands. I, a person in need of a job, was willing to take the opportunity to my own hands. I was accepted, thank goodness.<p>

The inside of the chateau is more lovely than the outside, words cannot describe… The first thing that caught my eye was the CHARIZARD statue that lay in front of the dining room's entrance. It is a very lovely piece; I remember seeing it a museum; I am much impressed that there is someone who owns the statue… I try hard to make the place as spotless as possible, for it is far too gorgeous to be left in carelessness. My GENGAR likes it here too; it is my faithful partner, it has been since I caught it in Kanto… Oh yes, and I must mention the couples young daughter, she is a kind girl, she never hesitates to greet me on sight… I shall stop writing now, and go to bed, for I must be up early tomorrow morning.

It ended there. I entered the room in the center, and found another page at the dining room table…

November 15th, 1996  
>Dear Diary,<p>

The couple received a guest today at about 1:00 AM; he is a young, but well dressed man. But,  
>though he is quite the polite kind, I do not feel easy about his presence here. There is a rather repelling aura on his person. The young girl… Though, in kindness, she gives him a courtesy, she shares my opinion. He has been here for about 30 minutes now, I've nothing more to say as of now, so I shall stop.<p>

There was a space under the final line, until another entry began right under the space.

This is a continuation of the last entry I wrote, so it is still the same day. In the dining room; the young girl and I heard it from the room next to it; the couple and the man were engaging in an enormous argument. The man had spoken of preposterous things, like a new world, controlling the Pokémon of space and time, destroying this universe… He had tried to get the couple to join in his plans, but, as sensible people would, the couple aggressively declined, and they have gone into their rooms to cool off after such a verbal tussle. But, one thing confuses me; the man remains in the dining room, with the food. I can't hear him… Maybe he is just cooling off like the couple is. Yes, that's right.

He stopped writing there. This man, this visitor, he sounded very familiar to me. He had spoken of a new world… Like Cyrus, the somewhat deranged leader of Team Galactic. But, why would he be visting the people of the cheateu? And by the sound of it, he had long attempted to get others in his vile plans long before he formed his cult… I exited the dining room, done with the entry in the area, and went upstairs to the hallway again. But, upon my entering, I saw her, the young girl's spirit facing me.

"You…

It wasn't you…

I'm sorry."

And she floated away to the right. I failed to understand. Exactly WHAT wasn't me? But, I could fret; I understood that I had to find more entries. I already knew that the couple was dead, judging by the child's earlier words, but I wanted to find out how, and why. I went in the first room… Nothing. I went in the second room, and found another one.

November 16th, 1996

Dear Diary,

It has been a very dreadful time for us, especially the young girl… I feel so awfully for her. You see, after the argument, we were to have dinner, but the man had left earlier before eating. I assumed that this was because he was angry, and needed to return to his original quarters, wherever that may have been. The couple; they mentioned that the food on their plates had a rather ilk taste to it, but mine and the child's food didn't… I thought that they just put too much sauce on it. But, I was wrong. The food was riddled with toxins that had been put there by the man, I'm sure of it… He was more cross about the couple declining than I thought. The antidotes had all vanished; where could they have gone? But, it doesn't matter now, not anymore… The two are dead. They couldn't be saved. The young child is in deep trauma because of this…But, I have vowed to take care of her. As if she was my own child. I made a life-long promise. And she has accepted…

It ended. I was rather saddened by this… Cyrus was more psychotic than I had once believed… He poisoned the two's food out of anger of being rejected, leaving their daughter all alone… That was a very cruel and heartless thing to do. And one thing made sense; Cyrus must have hidden the antidote in the trash, because if you looked in one of the trash cans, an antidote could indeed be found. I left that one room, to be faced by the old man, who said;

"He is a vicious monster…"

And he left. By "he", I knew he meant Cyrus. I entered the third room; nothing… The fourth room… Still nothing. It was the next room that I actually found something.  
>November 20th, 1996<p>

Dear Diary,

We have tried to push on, as the child chooses to hide her negative, destroyed emotion… But, I can see it in her youth-stained eyes; she is still hurt over both of her losses… And I understand fully. To lose one's mother and father so young… It is unhealthy for one her age. She grows more and more sickly and weak everyday, though she does not complain… I feel terribly for the poor thing. Today, she drew me a picture as a 'thank you' for choosing to stay with her… It is very nice, very "purple". I placed it in the fifth room near the bed, my GENGAR loves it. But, she did not have to thank me for this; it was the only right thing to do, as I could never bring it upon myself to abandon this child; I would never be able to forgive myself…

It stopped there. On the room right of me, the last room, I saw that there were two pages, and so I exited the fifth room, and went in the sixth room, but there was more in than just the pages. There were six Pokéballs in it, each containing my Pokémon, thank goodness. I checked their summaries… No curse. But, the nicknames had been altered. They were, in order;

GOOD

YOU

HAVE

BEEN

READING

THE PAST

As I closed the menu, I read the page instantly.

December 1st, 1996

Dear Diary,

I am very distraught. Too much for words. The child… She has perished, at such a young age, in her own bed. She died from her hurt she had tried to hide from me… Her final words to me were;  
>"Good bye, sir, thank you for taking care… of…"<br>She could not finish her sentence, for her life was robbed from her… She never spoke again. She never saw me again. She won't see her home anymore… But, I will stay with her, even in her own death… I promised to stay with her, and I refuse to break it. My life ends here…

When I finished that one, I went to what appeared to be the last one.

? 19?

Dear Diary,

This shall be my last journal entry. The child and I, we talk now. Here in this mansion. Yes, you have  
>guessed correctly, my life has ended. The beautiful mansion… It is now ugly. But, we refuse to leave. This is… Our home. We are doomed to wander here forever, alone… So be it. Unless, of course, a curious soul wanders here, which I doubt shall ever happen. We are desperate to be noticed, so we have placed a small notice in the dining room, though it is almost impossible to read. If one is to actually take the time to read it, that shall be our cue. I've nothing left to say…<p>

That was the final page. They were… Right behind me.

"Now you know our tale of woe…

…Leave, please…

…We thank you…

…No one talks about us…

…No…One…Cares…"

And, the screen faded out, and I was outside of the mansion. I checked my party… The altered nicknames had not changed. I had to go to the name rater… I saved the game, and turned it off. I was in thought once again. What they said about no one caring… It was the truth, apparently. No one in Sinnoh ever actully spoke of the Old Chateau, or its orgins… This made the two very alone and forgotten…

I don't know if I am going insane or not, but my thoughts were interrupted when I heard two voices saying…

"You know

The past

Our death…

…You've changed."

I froze in utter fear. Afraid to turn around, I stayed fixated on my bed for 50 minutes; I am dead serious. I have been up all night, spending the majority writing this… I won't be getting sleep anytime soon… THEY might be hostile toward me… They might think I'll forget about them if I sleep. I refuse to tell anyone about this… That is, except you. Yes you, the one reading this. Thank you for listening to me…

Good bye.


End file.
